


Serendipity

by HisParadiseLost



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But not until ch 11, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Harley and Ivy too bcuz i love them, Lena Luthor & Maggie Sawyer Friendship, Lena Luthor Has Powers, Lena Luthor-centric, No Guardian, Pam from HR - Freeform, Slow Burn Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Social Media, Spider-man villains, Superhero!Lena, spider powers to be exact, spiderverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:28:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 209,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22370305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HisParadiseLost/pseuds/HisParadiseLost
Summary: Lex Luthor was working on a way to give himself powers to level the playing field with the Supers. Just as he finished his spider, he was arrested.Lena Luthor was so tired of being the villain. Of being seen as a Luthor. When her mother kidnapped her and took her to the vault, a spider bite was the least of her problems. Until the next day.Follows canon but with a twist - Spider-Man characters and secret identity shenanigans.----------Or, the au absolutely no one asked for in which Lena is Spider-Woman.
Relationships: Background Harley/Ivy, Background Jess/Pam, Background Sanvers - Relationship, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 585
Kudos: 792





	1. Freak the Freak Out

**Author's Note:**

> Writing in the first chapter is a little wonky but it gets better promise. Or worse because I get carried away lmaoo

Lena bolted straight up. Sweat poured down her neck. Her hands were clammy. The light was too bright. Why did she feel like she was hungover? The alarm next to her beeped insistently. It was loud. Too loud. Lena brought her hand down on it to silence it. She succeeded in her task, but when she brought her hand up to try and tame her hair, she noticed pieces of metal attached to it.

“What the…” she murmured quietly to herself. Her alarm clock was in pieces on top of the nightstand. She looked to her hand once more and tried to shake the pieces off. They stayed on her palm. She shook it even more violently but that only managed to make her panic rise.

As she stood up, the sheets that were exposed to her bare skin stuck and followed. The pounding in her head was only getting worse and fuck, it was so bright. Lena stumbled over to the curtains and closed them shut. Except now, the curtains were stuck to her hands. Once again trying to shake it off, she accidentally broke the whole thing. The rod was going to fall on her, it should have fallen on her, but there was a tingling sensation all throughout her body that screamed ‘DANGER’. Lena jumped haphazardly to the side with wide eyes. What was happening to her? Did she accidentally sleep in super glue? Someone needed to turn the sun off, it was too bright in here for fuck’s sake.

Lena laid her hand on her phone that was face down with her fingertips and tried to open the door with the other hand. The door handle broke. Already hating today, she walked as calmly as she could to the bathroom. Her headache was still present and she needed to get away from the brightness of the sun. Thankfully the door was already open, so she walked in and sat on the floor. This was not happening. To the best of her ability, she unlocked her phone and dialed her secretary.

“Ms. Luthor?” Jess asked confused.

“Jess. I need you to clear my schedule for this whole week. I don’t care what you tell the press or anyone. Say I’m going to Hawaii after my near-death experience for all I care. No one is to disturb me during this time.” Lena took a deep breath to try and calm herself down a bit. 

“Are you alright, Ms. Luthor?” Jess’s concern made the CEO smile despite the situation she currently was in.

“I’m not sure yet. Send me updates on the company and email me some work. Once I understand what’s happening, I’ll let you know. I trust you to make sure L-Corp doesn’t crash and burn while I’m gone.”

“I trust you too, Ms. Luthor. I’ll make sure to have everything done right away. I hope everything turns out to be alright.” With a few more instructions, the phone call ended. Lena let out a sigh of relief and her shoulders relaxed from the tense position they were just in. Everything that was stuck on her abruptly fell off her body. She picked up her phone hesitantly and was relieved when it didn’t stick on her. Maybe it was just a fluke? But she did break the curtains and the door handle and the bloody headache was not going away. She decided to make another call.

“Sam?” Hopefully, her friend wasn’t in an important meeting.

“Lena? Hey! How are you?” Lena could hear cars and conversations on the other side of the phone. How could she hear all those things?

“How fast can you get to National City?” Her panic came back tenfold when she tried to get up and ended up breaking off a chunk of the counter that of course was now stuck on her hand. “What the fuck?” She whispered in shock.

“Lena, what’s going on?” Sam sounded worried. It was unlike her best friend to sound this distraught.

“I need you to come here. Something happened and it might have been my mom or my brother’s doing, I don’t know. I-I, just, please. Can someone watch Ruby for a week while you’re here? I don’t want her here while this is happening. Whatever the fuck this is.” She was pacing back and forward and her heart was racing alarmingly fast. This was bad. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there by the end of the day. Should I bring anything while I’m there?” Lena could hear Sam typing away on her computer - probably sending emails and getting ready to leave on such short notice.

“A toolkit and whatever else you need to fix broken counters and doors and curtains. Don’t tell anyone you’re coming to visit me. It’s okay if they know you’re coming to National City, but don’t make it seem like you’re coming for just me. I’ll make sure to have Jess give you a reason to go to L-Corp so it at least seems business-related. I know this is sudden, but I really need my best friend here with me.” God, Lena was such a mess right now. What was going on with her?

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, Lena. Whatever it is, try and stay calm. I’m already leaving the office to make arrangements for Ruby. I’ll see you soon.” 

Lena did a breathing exercise her shrink from years ago taught her. Her heart rate finally slowed down some but it still felt as if it were beating erratically. The bathroom counter and her phone fell off of her. It seems like her sticking power would stop if she was relaxed. At least that was one thing she didn’t have to worry about right now. Next was her migraine. She opened the bathroom mirror and winced when it flew off. As if she were a puppet, her arm stretched out and caught the mirror without hesitation. Okay…

She popped a few pills in her mouth and swallowed them dry. She didn’t want to risk breaking the water faucet. Her stomach growled angrily and Lena was startled by it. At least her eyes seemed to have adjusted. So far she knows that she’s super sticky, her eyes are sensitive, and she is apparently strong. As carefully as she could, she slowly opened the refrigerator and decided on having cereal for breakfast. At least she could try and control her newfound strength like this.

(She ended up breaking two spoons and part of the kitchen island)

-

“Lena!” Sam rushed off the plane and threw her arms around her best friend. “What’s going on? I did my best to not freak out on the way over here, but after your phone call, how could I not? 6 hours of going through worse case scenarios, especially since you said your mom or brother might be involved??” She looked Lena up and down and let out a sigh of relief when nothing seemed outwardly wrong.

“I’m fine right now. We need to go to my clinic that hasn’t opened yet to run some tests. I’ll explain when we’re there. Alone.” 

“Okay. Okay. Let’s go.” Lena slid into the driver seat of her corvette, taking another round of deep breaths while she started the engine. “You’re driving. You hardly ever drive,” Sam commented aloud.

“I don’t know how long we’re going to be there and I don’t want to bother Mathew. Also, I might have told Jess to tell everyone I’m not in the city right now so…” Lena trailed off. Sam hummed in acknowledgment but stayed quiet the rest of the drive.

“This morning when I got out of bed, the sheets stuck to me,” Lena started as they walked into the unopened clinic. “I figured it was probably because I was sweaty or something, but it stayed on me. No matter how much I tried to shake it off. Then,” she went on to explain her morning. Sam wasn’t sure how to react.

“So what are we doing here then?” 

“To run some tests. See what is wrong with me.” They walked over to a cot where a medical table lay with equipment. “I need you to do blood tests, CBC, BMP, the whole workup. We should try to look into physical tests, and I want a full-body MRI. God, it’s cold in here.” Sam walked over to the thermostat and made a face.

“It’s only 60 degrees, Lena. You keep your office this same temperature.”

“Turn it the fuck up, I’m freezing.” As Sam increased the temperature, Lena felt the change and tensed up. She covered her mouth to sneeze and was surprised when white sticky substance came out of her wrists. “Sam, what the fuck, what the fuck, oh my God, what is happening to me?” The white string attached itself to the wall and where it came out of her wrist, it fell on the floor.

“What the fuck did they do to you?” Sam rushed over and grabbed the substance. “Is this… spider silk?” She rubbed it in between her fingers and followed it to the wall. Sure enough, it looked like a miniature spider web. “I can see why you were worried.”

They sat on a cot and Sam started to get blood samples. (“You know I hate needles, Lee, but for you, I guess I could suck it up. After all, you’re the one with the white stuff is coming out of. And not the good kind.” “Sam!”)

“Your blood is blue.” When Lena looked at the vials, sure enough, her blood was a dark blue color. She closed her eyes and cursed her brother.

“Just keep going.”

They left the spider silk bunched up in a corner, unsure what to do with it. Once the blood was in the tiny vials, Lena walked over to a microscope and put her hand under it. She zoomed in as much as she could and noticed small, fine hairs all over her. She looked at her hand that wasn’t under the microscope and saw nothing. Not even when she put it right up against her face. What she did notice was a bite mark on the side of her left rest.

Suddenly, she thought back to the vault to where her mother had kidnapped her. “Lex also kept an arsenal. Vaults around the world with things he collected to level the playing field to defeat Superman once and for all.” Lillian had said.

Lena remembered being bit by a spider but hadn’t thought much about it, chalking it up to being an ordinary spider that had found its way in the room. Thinking about it, there was no possible way for a spider to be in an airtight vault that had Lex’s experiments in it. Was this something Lex had made to try and level the playing field with Superman? Lena couldn’t even go back and check the site because it blew up.

“Sam, I think I know what’s wrong. I just need a DNA test to confirm.” If she was right, what was she supposed to do? What would it even mean?

The CEO walked out to her car to try and catch her breath. Even though Lex was locked up far away, he still kept finding ways to mess with his little sister. The assassination attempts are one thing, but making a spider that changed her body was another. She grabbed her laptop and her prototype of her artificial intelligence, Hope. Might as well try and figure out what to do next.

-

“What stood out the most was on the CBC, your white blood cells and palates are pretty much double what they were before. You have a double heartbeat and can’t thermoregulate it seems. Oh, and now your metabolism has increased.” Sam gestured at the takeout containers that were strewn on the table opposite of them. “Your senses have been enhanced and apparently you have built-in night vision,” she finished off.

“That’s what’s changed physically, right? Besides the part where I can climb walls, run faster than the treadmill, jump over the building, heal faster than normal, shoot webs from my wrists, and have some sort of sixth sense?” Lena listed off. These past four days were filled with tests and cursing and some freaking out.

“Yup. Whatever a spider can do, it seems like you can do it too.” Sam threw a pen towards Lena’s head and laughed when she caught it without glancing in that direction.

“Stop doing that!” She laughed at her best friend’s antics. “I still feel weird about this sixth sense. It’s like my body is telling me ‘Danger, danger’ when it’s just you throwing things at me.” She rolled her eyes and caught a chopstick. “Hope, have you found anything from Lex’s archives about this spider yet?” 

“No, Boss.”

“We should totally call it your spider-sense,” Sam teased. She was having such a field day with Lena’s new powers. “You know, Ruby adores Supergirl. Imagine how she would feel if there were a new superhero.”

Lena stared at her with confusion until it clicked. “You want me, CEO of L-Corp, a Luthor, to be a vigilante hero?” She asked incredulously.

“You were always destined for greatness! This can be your chance to do some good outside of the Luthor name. We’re both tech-savvy, so it won’t be hard to make a suit or some gadgets or anything. You can be a hero, Lena! Am I right, Hope?”

“Agreed, Sam,” Hope’s Irish voice said.

“You’re kidding me, right? I can’t believe you used my own AI against me,” Lena mocked indignantly. “Did I mention I’m CEO of a multi-billion company?” She tried to fight weakly.

“You’ve got Jess to help you out. I think it’d be a good way to save the small people. Supergirl takes cares of fires and aliens, you can take care of muggings and bank robberies. Rub it in Lex’s face that with the experiment he wanted to use for evil is being used for good. However, it’s completely your choice. If you don’t want to, then don’t. Either way, I’ll still throw stuff at you.” As if to make a point, she threw a pizza slice at her. 

“If I did this, and it’s a big if, it is going to take time away from the company. I might even consider asking a good friend of mine to be CFO while I’m running around in a spandex suit or something.” She gave a meaningful look to Sam.

“W-What? Me as CFO? You’re kidding, right?” Sam put her plate down and faced her friend fully.

“It makes sense. You and I work well together, you are going to help me with my new side job, and Jess likes you. I’ll get to see my favorite niece every day and I can only imagine you’re going to need my help with raising her since she’s approaching her teenage years.”

“You’re serious.”

“Well, yeah. If you are serious about me becoming this vigilante, then I’m serious about you becoming my CFO. It’ll take some time to get everything in order, though.”

“Ruby will be on summer break in three months. Is that enough time?” Sam resumed eating her pizza.

“Yes.” That was as much as a confirmation that Lena needed. Sam was in. “Now what should the costume be? I want it to have my technology inside. Like Hope, so she can help me when I need it, a built-in heater since apparently I can’t thermoregulate, and it has to have some sort of lead in it so Supergirl can’t see who I am or hear any conversation I’m having. And I want to be fully covered, I don’t want to risk it.” Those were reasonable demands, right? They spent the next three hours coming up with designs and schematics for a suit.

“Can we please go to your house now? I would much rather sleep in an actual bed tonight than these cots,” Sam laughed.

“Yeah. I’ll probably disappear into my lab downstairs and get started on the suit.” Hope was mostly finished, though she still needed some furnishing. So far, it was good enough that Lena could install the AI in her house, but not fully finished to be helpful in a suit. “Tomorrow we can also fix what I accidentally broke.”

Sam laughed whole-heartedly at the disaster that was Lena’s bedroom.


	2. A Leap of Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena goes out on her first outing as the Spider. Thus marks the beginning of her and Supergirl's "friendly" rivalry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm embarrassed at how long it took me to figure out how to add the pictures. Like. At least half an hour long.  
> In case anyone is wondering what suit she's wearing, it's the Far From Home one. I have the next couple of chapters more or less done and I post without editing so I don't back out, so sorry for any mistakes.

It’s been 10 days since Lena got her powers. 3 days since Sam had to go back to Metropolis. When Lena got back to work yesterday, she pulled Jess into the office and explained everything to her.

“That sounds like a great idea, Ms. Luthor. Are you going to tell Ms. Danvers about it?” Jess asked. For the past week, Lena had been avoiding Kara’s texts and calls and barely answered yesterday when she “came back from her trip”. She didn’t want to lie to her, but she was close to Supergirl. And Lena didn’t want Supergirl to find out who she was.

“No.”

“Okay. Will you be telling me when you’re going out? What am I supposed to do anyway?”

“You, Jess, will be my alibi if I need one. You’ll communicate with me and let me know if I’m needed at the office or anything.”

“Yes, Ms. Luthor. Can I also add that this is the coolest thing, ever?” Jess smiled at her boss.

“I’m glad you’re amused. Make sure the temperature never dips below 60 degrees, please. With these new powers, there has also been a slight increase in my appetite. Almost enough to rival Kara’s.” Lena had been surprised to see the six-pack when she changed her shirt, but hey. At least she didn’t have to work out every time her best friend came over for lunch.

Now the CEO sat at her desk staring blankly at the small pile of papers in front of her. So far she hadn’t escaped and made her debut as the Spider yet. She wasn’t necessarily scared of getting hurt or caught, she was smart about the technology and not getting caught, but she was anxious. What if she messed up? What if she wasn’t good enough? As if somehow sensing her inner turmoil, Sam texted her.

  
  


Lena sighed and looked at the paper on top of her pile. It was a proposal from Dr. Otto Octavius for some mechanical arms that he wanted to work on as a tool to help in construction sights. She read it over quickly and added it to her finished pile before standing up and walking over to her secret room. 

One handprint and eye scan later, Lena stood in the middle of the lead-lined room. Her suit was on a pedestal, the spider emblem sitting proudly in the middle. To the left was a table that had her web formula and papers filled with gadget ideas. She hadn’t had time to take them home and work on them in her personal lab yet. Before she had time to reconsider, Lena unzipped her dress and stepped toward the spider suit. She took it in her hands and started to put it on as if it were a onesie. It hung loosely on her frame until she pressed the spider. Once she did, it zipped tightly to fit her. She grabbed the web-shooters from the table and put them on then grabbed her mask. Once she stepped out of the room, the door closed behind her.

“Hey Jess, can you come here real quick?” Lena asked into the communicator. A few seconds passed before her assistant walked in.

“Oh my God. You look - the suit - you. Woah.” She walked towards her boss and circled her, admiring the suit. “I’m guessing this means you’re finally going to go out?”

“Yeah.” Lena fixed her hair and slipped the mask on. She blinked rapidly and squinted her eyes as she got used to the new lighting. The goggles filtered less sunlight since her eyes were sensitive.

“The suit is amazing, by the way. The eyes squinted with you, that is so cool. A way to show emotions, huh? And what material is this?” Jess lightly grabbed one of her boss’s hands and ran her own hand over it. It felt a bit rough but looked so smooth. "It fits you really well.”

“It’s spandex with lead and some nanotechnology as well as regular technology,” Lena answered. “Light enough for me to run around, lead so Supergirl doesn’t get any smart ideas, and the technology to help with the suit’s functions. Yet, it’s still thin enough so I can do this.” She walked over to the wall and started to climb. It was weird how.... normal? it felt to scale the walls. She felt safe being up this high.

“Once again Ms. Luthor, this is amazing. The voice changer was a smart idea. You have all the things, but are you ready to go out there?” Jess asked hesitantly. 

“It’s a leap of faith.” Lena dropped from the wall and landed gracefully on her feet. She went behind her desk and pulled out an earpiece and handed it to Jess. “This will replace the one you usually wear. With this, you can communicate with me in and out of the suit. Today is going to be a test run kind of day, only an hour or two at most. Keep me posted.”

“Will do. Goodluck Ms. Luthor.”

Lena opened the sliding glass and stood on her balcony. The sunset made the shadows of the buildings grow in size until the city was almost enveloped in darkness. “Okay Hope, this is our first outing. Set the nearby camera on a loop for 23 seconds.”

“Ready when you are, Boss.” Hope’s Irish voice sounded eager. That was a little encouraging.

Lena took a deep breath in and jumped off the side of the balcony. As she neared the ground, she calculated the speed she was going, the velocity, the force it would take to swing, and she did the mental pendulum equations she forced herself to learn to do as quickly as possible. Once she could make out the blobs below as people, Lena extended her right hand and quicky double-tapped the web-shooter. A long thin piece of webbing reached out and attached itself to a nearby building. Soon enough, Lena found a rhythm and was swinging through the city. Her spider-sense was buzzing faintly to make her aware of all the people staring at her. 

“Help me!” The scream caught her attention. She released her web, tirled in the air, and took a hard left. In the alleyway stood an alien with its daughter pushed behind them. There were two men with guns pointed towards them. _It’s now or never_ , Lena thought.

“It’d be wise to drop behind them and take the weapons before they realize what is happening. Another option is to go face to face with the thugs and redirect the attention to yourself. I highly recommend the first option,” Hope advised. Naturally, Lena went with the second option.

“What’s going on here?” Lena landed between the aliens and the humans. “It isn’t nice to point guns you know.”

“Who the hell are you?” The gunmen pointed the weapons at the newcomer. Lena stood protectively in front of the aliens and motioned for them to run away. 

“Who am I? Well, that’s a tough question. You see, I don’t even-” The lenses of her mask narrowed as guy #1 squeezed the trigger. The hair on the back of her neck stood straight up and her whole body was screaming ‘danger, danger’ repeatedly. Her eyes widened as the bullet came closer and without thinking, she leaped to the side and clung onto the wall. “That wasn’t very nice, you didn’t even let me finish-” Another gunshot. Lena dodged the bullets with grace and was overwhelmed with adrenaline.

“Your web-shooters, Boss,” Hope helpfully pitched. Right. Lena backflipped and, still airborne, she two webs towards the men. The guns were successfully knocked out of their hands and stuck the wall.

“Eww, what is this?” Guy #2 looked at his hands in disgust. There was a small crowd forming to watch and some even had their phones out to record.

“Here, I’ll show you.” Lena ran towards them and pushed them against the wall, webbing them against it. She looked over to the crowd who was now cheering. She sent a two-finger salute before turning to the wall, running up it, and swinging away. On her way to the office, she stopped a car thief, a kitten from a tree, and helped an old lady cross the street. She landed on the balcony and rushed into her office calling for Jess once again.

“How’d it go?” Jess asked excitedly. Lena pulled off the mask to reveal the biggest smile Jess had ever seen on her boss. The only time that smile ever came forward was when she talked to Ms. Danvers.

“It was amazing Jess.” The CEO slumped into her chair. “Order some dinner for us both and I’ll tell you about it.”

“Right away, Ms. Luthor.” Her assistant nodded eagerly and rushed to her desk to place an order for Thai. Meanwhile, the boss went into her secret room to change. She hit the spider with her whole hand and it slid right off. She placed it back onto the mannequin she had for it and turned on the tv’s that were on the right side of the room with her computers.

“There are several witness reports of a new vigilante in our midst. Not much is known about this new player. Are they here with good intentions? Are they human or alien? No one knows for sure but-” Lena turned off the tv. At least she finally came out. She got dressed, grabbed the papers with schemes for gadgets, and walked out. Sam texted her again.

“I saw a video of you fighting two men with guns. How were you able to dodge all those bullets?” Jess set the containers down and started to open them.

“It’s another power I have. I don’t know much about it yet, unfortunately. All I know is that my body practically yells at me when there’s danger and to move out of the way.” She packed her plate. Gosh, she was really hungry right now. “We call it my spidey-sense.” Lena rolled her eyes at the name but she couldn’t argue with Sam on it because it did sound kind of cool.

They talked and talked until Jess’ yawns started coming more frequently. Lena looked at the time. 9:30 pm. 

“Let’s pack it up. I still have a bit of work to do at home now that I got to have a test run in the field,” Lena suggested. 

“No problem, Ms. Luthor.”

“I think it’s safe to say you can call me by my first name now, Jess,” she chided her assistant. Lena grabbed the trash bag and started to fill it. She really could probably compete with her best friend’s appetite.

“Of course, Ms. Luthor.” Jess blinked. “Lena.” She blinked again. “It feels kind of odd calling you Lena to your face.”

“You call me Lena behind my back?” She raised a teasing eyebrow.

“Only to Ms. Danvers.” Jess winked at her and yeah ok she got it. She shut up.

Once she got home, she started reviewing the footage that Hope filmed. Perhaps she could have had more grace when saving the car from the car thieves. The hood now had two handprints on it. Next time Lena could web a trap beforehand? Web it from behind and pull it back? She was about to contemplate it longer until a text interrupted her thoughts. She smiled at who it was.

She decided to text Jess real quick.

  
  


-

“Lena!” She perked her head up and grinned when Kara walked in with a bag of Big Belly Burger. “It’s been forever!” She was pulled into a hug and for some reason, her spider-sense was tingling. It wasn’t in a dangerous way, she could tell that much, but something was off. She gave Kara an odd look and was surprised when it was returned. Could Kara tell something was off with her? “Are you okay? Your heart-” Kara cut herself off and placed two fingers to Lena’s neck on her pulse point. “Your heartbeat. It’s different.” 

“Uh..” Was it weird that Kara knew what her heartbeat normally was and that it changed? “It’s nothing. It’s,” Lena glanced around for an excuse. “Are those shakes?” She blurted. Nice one.

“Yeah.” Realizing that she didn’t want to talk about it, Kara followed the topic change. “Oreo for me and strawberry for you.”

“Thank you.” They sat down and started to chat easily while eating. There were four burgers in total and without even thinking, she grabbed the second one once she finished her first. She didn’t realize Kara had stopped talking until she looked up, burger already halfway to her mouth. The reporter was staring at her with an amused expression, eyes wide with disbelief. “I’ve been working out a lot more recently,” Well that wasn’t a complete lie, “and so I’ve been eating a lot more. I’m sorry, did you want it?” She sheepishly offered it to her friend. Kara threw her head back and laughed.

“No, it’s okay. Go ahead.” Kara continued to laugh for a bit. “Next time I’ll remember to get more.” Lena flushed and decided to once again change the conversation.

“I heard that there’s a new vigilante in National City,” she started casually.

“Yup.” Kara threw a fry in her mouth. “Mrs. Grant wants an interview with them. They literally showed up yesterday and she already wants to label them.” She shook her head fondly.

“She moves fast,” Lena laughed. Maybe she would swing by later that night. “What do you think about this new player?”

“I don’t know.” Kara shrugged her shoulders honestly. “As long as they don’t get in Supergirl’s way, everything should be okay.” At that, Lena raised an eyebrow.

“You think Supergirl would get annoyed if this new person tried to get in her way?” Lena had only met the Super a few times, but she didn’t think that their ego was _that_ big. Or maybe it was. Maybe Supergirl was territorial.

“I can’t say for certain, but I think she’d want the person to stay out of trouble. What if they are human? She wouldn’t want them to get hurt. Supergirl does a good enough job protecting the city, she doesn’t necessarily need someone putting themselves at risk.” Lena nodded thoughtfully and changed the subject again to Snapper Carr - a topic Kara could rant about for a while.

-

“Who are you?” Cat Grant asked. Lena dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of her, arms crossed.

“Well according to you, I’m Spider-Woman.” Lena didn’t totally hate the name but would’ve preferred the Spider. It was yesterday, on her third outing, that she saw Cat labeled her in the magazine. She decided it was time for an interview then and if she were to link herself to any magazine company, of course, she’d pick Cat Grant. She saw passed the Luthor name and showed Lena compassion whenever they saw each other at events. And most of National City trusted her judgment, so it was a smart move for publicity.

“Trademark pending.” She circled Spider-Woman slowly, vibe checking her.

“I heard you wanted an interview. Here I am.” Lena, uncomfortable with the scrutiny, climbed up the wall and nestled herself in the corner.

“Do you mind if I record this?” Cat asked as she pulled out her recorder. She didn’t seem too phased with the wall-crawling. Lena wondered if anything could phase the woman.

“Go ahead.” 

“Spider-Woman.” She looked at her once more in awe, taking a second to compose herself. “Let’s start with the general. Where are you from?”

Lena took a second to consider this question. Technically, Spider-Woman was from National City, Lena Luthor from Metropolis, her real self from Ireland. “Earth.” She decided on. That’s vague enough.

“Human, then? Okay, how do you have powers? What are your powers?” Cat watched as Spider-Woman walked on the ceiling of the balcony.

“I’m a metahuman.” That was the easiest answer to give. Better than ‘my psychotic brother made a spider that changed my DNA to give me powers’. “I have most abilities spiders have.” Using a web, she slowly lowered herself until she was hanging upside in front of Cat.

“So why are we just hearing from you now?”

“My powers only manifested recently. It hasn’t even been a year since I’ve had them.” All correct.

“That means you have a day job. What do you do when you aren’t swinging around the city? Have you met Supergirl yet?” Cat once again continued to circle the vigilante.

“I like to sit on webs and try to resist eating flies,” Lena joked. As if making a point, Lena made a web and laid back into it, her arms coming to relax behind her head. “I haven’t had the pleasure to meet National City’s beautiful hero, but I’m sure we’ll run into each other sooner or later.” Lena winked at Cat.

“Are you here as a hero? You are aware that this is a hotspot for alien activity, correct?” She sat across from Spider-Woman, one leg crossed over the other.

“I am aware. My first save as Spider-Woman was actually helping an alien parent and their child. As long as someone needs saving and I’m around, I’ll be there to help.” Lena was actually kind of surprised by the lack of curveball questions.

“Are you a mother? Do you have a family? Any relationships? Does anyone know about your night job?” Cat fired off.

“Everyone has family at one point, don’t they?” Lena was good at deflecting questions or answering them in an unsatisfactory way. She was a Luthor after all. “I am not a mother. I would like to think that my relationship with National City is starting to grow. What kind of relationship would you like with me, Cat Grant? Supergirl is already your poster child.”

“I report the news and you, Spider-Woman, are big news.” Cat then turned off the recorder. “It is true I have Supergirl, but I also want you. Or would you rather someone from the Daily Bugle write about you?” She looked at Lena expectantly.

“I trust you, Cat.” Lena stood up, tilting her head as she heard a high pitched alarm going off. “I’ve got to go.”

“Supergirl does the same thing.” Lena stared at her. “She tilts her head like a dog before dashing off to be a hero,” Cat explained.

“Right. Well, I’ve got to go.” She jumped and landed on the railing on the balcony. “But first, here. You probably have Supergirl on speed dial, but if you ever need to contact me, that’s how. Press down on it once and I’ll come. Twice and I won’t.” Cat looked at the miniature spider emblem that was placed in her hand then at the receding figure. She was different than what Cat originally thought. Now, it was time to write an article. She walked over to the two hidden cameras and went through the video for a decent picture.

-

“Supergirl?” Lena asked once she got into the empty building. It was an abandoned warehouse that contained guns and bodies that were knocked unconscious.

“I was wondering when I would run into you, Spider-Woman.” The Girl of Steel turned around and narrowed her eyes at the newcomer.

“Funny, I was just talking about you. Anyways, what happened here?” Spider-Woman looked around so Hope could do some scans. 

“You lined your suit with lead,” Supergirl observed.

“Okay, don’t answer me then.” Lena huffed and went over to a man on the floor. These seemed like regular goons. Was this a normal gun bust? Didn’t Supergirl do more important stuff than that?

“I don’t need you here. You can leave now.” Supergirl was using her big girl voice.

“What’s your problem?” 

“I don’t have a problem. I got here first and took care of everything.” Oh, so she _was_ territorial.

“Whatever, Super- girl. . Spider-Woman has better things to take care of anyways.” Okay so maybe it was a low blow, but Lena seriously didn’t understand why this godlike figure’s ego was so bruised with her here. She just wanted to help.

“Have fun webbing guys to the wall. It seems like so much fun.” Supergirl put her hands on her hips and had a smug look on her face.

“Yeah? Do you wanna find out how fun it is?” Lena extended her wrist and shot two webs at Supergirl. Taken by surprise, the Kryptonian’s wrists were webbed to the wall. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Lena webbed that shut as well. “See you around, Supergirl.” Spider-Woman winked and fled before the woman broke out and chased after her. She fled into her house and released her suit, standing naked in her room. Well, that could’ve gone better.

-

Lena was drinking her coffee when her phone buzzed. She looked down and noticed a group chat had been made by Sam.

  
  
  


There was no way Lena was going to make an Instagram for her alter ego. Would anyone even follow her? She rolled her eyes and got ready for the board meeting. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how to draw. Circles look like squares and stick figures look like dying people. That being said, I am totally taking pictures on Spider-Man ps4 and using them for the Instagram posts. I know it's a little dumb but don't at me, idk how to draw plz have mercy.
> 
> On another note, I realized this is my first fic for this fandom and I just dove right in. This is going to be a slow, slow burn. Supergirl and Spider-Woman are kind of dicks to each other rn so. Slow burn. Also, everyone is so nice like thank you. I had such a horrible day today and realizing people were into the story made me beyond happy. I see a lot of people like the text conversations, so maybe I'll do more of that in the future. Let me know what you think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows the events of 2x15 more or less. 
> 
> You know what's funny. I actually named the chapters after books in the bible and this chapter title was going to be Leviticus but the episode I followed was called Exodus, which was going to be last chapter's name. So funny I know.
> 
> This story will more or less follow the rest of season two and in season three it will diverge. I'm setting characters up behind the scenes, so keep an eye out for that ;)

Lena looked through the comments on the picture she posted and smiled. Most of them called her a hero and praised her work. Others compared her to Supergirl. There was a good amount asking her to get a Twitter so she could "shit post", whatever that meant. She reluctantly got an Instagram and encrypted the shit out of it so no one could trace it to her phone. If someone tried to hack the account, Hope would notify her right away.

Lena heard gunshots go off and a window breaking. She suited up and headed towards the disruption.

“Spider-Woman.” Lena turned around to the voice that spoke. “Detective Maggie Sawyer.” She introduced and stuck her hand out. Lena shook it and gave a curt nod.

“What happened here?” Hope scanned the area as she looked around. There was nothing out of the ordinary except for some lockers that had been broken into. “What was stolen?”

“We’re not completely sure, but this floor is the technical floor of the building. We know they were working on a projection, nothing that should be worth stealing.” Maggie took a few more pictures.

“They got away.” Supergirl flew in through the hole in the building.

“Of course you’re here.” The lenses of her suit narrowed at the alien.

“You finally made it!” Her overly cheerful smile made Lena’s eye tick.

“Not all of us have super speed, you know.” She stepped up to the Super and was annoyed when she had to look up to meet her eyes. “You’d be surprised at how good it is to take it slow.” They stared at each other and even though Supergirl couldn’t see her eyes, it felt good to glare into hers. Maggie cleared her throat.

“Right, well. If anything comes up, I’ll let you know.” She scrunched her eyebrows. “How do I get in contact with you?”

“I’ll get in contact with you.” She stepped away from Supergirl and towards the detective.

“Okay then. Here’s my card.” Lena took it and waved goodbye before backflipping out of the hole, swinging away. Should she use a separate line to talk to her? That seemed like the smartest action since she was obviously close with Supergirl. Lena wasn’t sure if she could trust her with a spider yet. She’d program it into Hope later.

-

-

“Lena!” Kara’s eyes widened. She bumped into her and she didn’t even move an inch.

“She said with surprise in her voice for some reason,” Lena teased her best friend. 

“Oh my God. We had plans and I totally forgot. I’m so sorry - There's a lot going on.” Kara looked genuinely stressed.

“It's okay. You don't need to explain. Is everything okay?”

“No. Snapper refused to publish my article, uh, on Cadmus.” Cadmus?

“What did Mother do now?” Lillian would never stop, would she? It was only two weeks ago she almost killed Lena, now she was up to something so quickly?

“Cadmus stole the alien registry,” Kara admitted. “They're abducting everyone on the list. My article was meant to warn everyone.” Those kidnapping she heard about… that was Cadmus? How did she not connect the dots before?

“Well, something that important, if Snapper won't let you publish it at CatCo, maybe be a citizen journalist. Post a blog. Tweet the hell out of it. Imagine how many people you could reach instantly, by just blogging about it,” Lena reasoned. At least then she could use her platform as Spider-Woman to tweet it and reach everyone instantly. Guess she really would have to make a Twitter now for Spider-Woman.

“Yeah. Maybe you're right. Although Snapper would crucify me.” They both laughed. “Hey, in the meantime, um, maybe there's something you can help me with.” Lena nodded her head encouragingly. “Does L-Corp have any technology that we could use to find missing aliens?”

“I can look into it.” No, L-Corp doesn’t. “Or maybe I can do one better. When Lex ran the company, Mother was on the Board. Maybe she left something behind, you know, a trail of bread crumbs.” Kara literally glowed at that.

“Thank you,” she said earnestly.

“What are friends for?” Lena gazed at her a moment too long to be considered platonic. “Well, I’ll let you work. Text me later and we’ll get lunch another time. Go. Save the aliens.”

“You’re the best.” They shared a hug that was once again a heartbeat or two too long. Her spider-sense was always buzzing around Kara so Lena didn’t notice when a set of eyes were watching the whole encounter. It usually buzzed when someone was staring at her. God, she needed to figure this sixth sense out.

“Ms. Luthor.” Lena turned around, neutral mask in place. “Surprise visit to CatCo?” Cat Grant sauntered towards the CEO, a predatory expression on her face.

“Yeah.” What was she supposed to say? Cat could smell a lie from a mile away, and Lena didn’t want to admit that she wanted to check up on Kara after she didn’t respond to her text messages.

“You and Kara know each other?” She raised an amused eyebrow and Lena desperately fought down the heat that was trying to make way to her face.

“Yes.” Was being short with her answers confirming what Cat thought she knew? Should she add more detail to her answers?

“During her lunch breaks, I’ve noticed she goes to L-Corp pretty frequently. I thought maybe she had a friend there or was working a story, but I think I know why,” she winked. The blush was definitely there now.

“I, um. We’re just friends. My best friend. She’s my best friend. She has a boyfriend.” Where was that cool Luthor exterior when she needed it? Then again, Cat was always able to look straight through the facade.

“Right.” God, she hated that knowing look. Lena faintly heard the sounds of gunshots and cocked her head to the side slightly, eyebrows furrowing. There were multiple gunshots and it sounded close. Why was it always guns?

“I’ve actually got to get going. It was nice running into you, Cat. Maybe we should have dinner one day to catch up?” Lena was already walking out the door and waved before she went to the elevator. With her rush to get to the scene of the crime, she missed Cat’s surprised face. Eyebrows raised, eyes wide, mouth agape.

“Now that I wasn’t expecting. A Super and a Luthor fighting crime together unknowingly. This is going to be fun.” Cat shook her head fondly and walked back to her office. Why did she always have a soft spot for the reckless heroes?

-

Lena stretched in her seat. She was only out as Spider-Woman for an hour before she had to head back to her office. Since then, she’d been looking into all the facilities Lex owned to see if Lillian was possibly hiding somewhere. She had Jess take the day off so her stand-in, Alana, gave her all the required papers she needed. She called Maggie through Hope to set up the line and found out that it was a new projection device that was stolen earlier. It might've been the same person who stole a drone, but it wasn't clear yet.

Lena looked at the numbers and found that the abounded warehouse was getting billed. Her mother thought she was so clever, how could she not have bothered to think that Lena wouldn't look at the finances? Once she was sure of where Lillian was hiding, Lena dialed Kara’s number. “Lena?”

“I found something. Activity at a Luthor facility that’s supposedly defunct. It’s big enough to build almost anything.”

“Or hide anything.” Kara was good at picking up on her line of thinking. Lena glanced up when her spider-sense started buzzing again. In the reflection of the glass, she noticed a couple of men walking towards her, possibly goons. She dropped the phone loudly and grabbed her taser prototype for possible taser webs. When the first guy tried to lunge towards him, she tased him. He fell to the floor. The voltage seemed non-lethal, so at least he was still alive.

“Stay back!” She said it loud enough for Kara to hear. She could hear her friend calling for her name. Hopefully, she would call Supergirl. She could take care of these goons by herself, but she didn’t want to risk giving away her identity. That’s why she put her faith in Kara and Supergirl. She believed they would save her. As she fell off the balcony, she realized that she should probably make an extra pair of web-shooters or maybe update Hope so she could have some function of the suit by herself. Though, that’d probably have to be in a different suit maybe-

“I’ve got you.” Supergirl’s warm body pressed into her as she caught her bridal style. She smiled down at Lena and it honestly took her breath away. Those beautiful bright blue eyes twinkled and her smile was so soft. Those strong, toned arms- “Drop something?” Supergirl then proceeded to blow the men to the side with her freeze breath.

“Thanks.” Lena stepped back from the hero. “I’m glad you came. I know where Cadmus has the missing aliens.”

“That’s great. Kara just posted the article to warn the aliens. So where are they?” They stepped into the office and Lena picked up her phone to retweet the article on her alter ego’s twitter she made an hour ago. Once Supergirl was gone, Lena went into the room and started to suit up all while messaging her friends.

  
  


“Hope, what’s the status?” Lena swung as fast as she could to the location she had given to the superhero.

“It seems as if a spaceship is about to leave Earth. There are aliens and I detect a human inside as well. Inside the warehouse is Hank Henshaw fighting a human.” Seeing as Supergirl could fly and she couldn’t, Lena went for her mom’s minion.

“If it isn’t the itsy bitsy spider,” Henshaw spat. He was looming over a dead body.

Lena dove straight into the fight, no banter this time. If she could neutralize this threat then she could thwart some of her mother’s future plans. She managed to land one blow to the side of his face and that only made her hand throb. Now, she was on the defense. Henshaw was fast and his attacks were measured, not one swing was wasted. Lena dodged and flipped and tried to counter but it was obvious she was beaten to hand to hand combat. She had a cracked (broken) rib and probably a fractured wrist already.

She leaped far away and shot a web towards him. He simply grabbed it and yanked on it, pulling Lena with it. His fist collided with her face and she fell to the ground. He stomped on her chest and then on her wrist that was most definitely broken now. Her spider-sense was going off like crazy to the point it almost hurt.

“Down came the rain and washed the spider out.” Henshaw kicked the vigilante into a wall as if she weighed nothing. The concrete fell around her. So much for being a hero.

“Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain.” Supergirl flew through the wall and right into Henshaw. They exchanged a few blows before the cyborg dropped a smoke bomb and made his escape.

“And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again,” Lena finished weakly. She pushed herself up and peeled the mask off a bit, exposing her mouth and nose. She needed fresh air and to spit some blood from her mouth out. Supergirl walked over to her carefully.

“Hey, Spidey, need some help?” Her sarcasm from the other times they’ve encountered each other was completely gone. She seemed concerned and worried.

“Fine. Just bleeding.” Supergirl helped her stand up.

“I can have them look you over. I can’t see what’s wrong with you.” She tapped by her eyes.

“No. Mask down?” She muttered. Supergirl put her hand on the mask and hesitated. She wanted to know who was under the mask, who was this small human who jumped in front of danger but knew better than to betray the unspoken trust they had for each other. She pulled it down. “Hope, call Tweedlee.”

“Meet me at the place we discussed in ten minutes. I’m injured.”

“Right away.” Lena motioned for Supergirl to lift the mask up again. She did until it was right under her eyes.

“Do you need me to fly you somewhere? Why did you even take him on? Look at you!” Supergirl wiped some of the blue blood away from her mouth. She seemed a little angry but mostly worried.

“Stronger than I look.” Her head lolled to the side. There was no way she was going to make it to her house like this. She looked down and noticed there was a piece of metal sticking out of her stomach. When did that get there? She pulled it out with a cry and webbed it to try and stop the bleeding. “Please don’t follow me.” Supergirl bit her lip and stared intently at the woman she was practically carrying. The DEO had been trying to get ahold of Spider-Woman to ask her a couple of questions and to make sure she wasn’t a threat. Now, Kara had her. The woman was weak and vulnerable and wouldn’t be able to fight back. Hell, she could pull the mask off right now and see who this person was.

“Please be okay. I need someone to compete with when it comes to crime-fighting.” Shakily, she fixed the mask so it covered her completely once again. DEO agents were starting to come and they would take Spider-Woman in if she didn’t leave right away. Taking a risk, Kara took the woman in her arms and flew her into the city, leaving her on a roof before going back to the warehouse.

“Kara?” Alex called. “He’s dead.” She laid over Jeremiah’s body and started crying. “It’s Spider-Woman’s fault! If she were faster, she could have saved him!” Kara walked over and hugged her sister, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

-

“You literally have three Ph.D.’s, Lena. How are you so dumb?” Jess huffed in annoyance once Lena stumbled into the basement that had become a makeshift medical area just for Spider-Woman.

“It’s been a while since I’ve gotten these powers. I thought I could, ouch, beat him.” The suit pooled around her feet and she laid on the medical table.

“And you webbed up your injury. Then you’re going to tell me that you’re going to come into work tomorrow?” Jess raised an eyebrow as she got to work.

“Yes. Dr. Octavius wants me to help him with his new invention. And Supergirl saw me. Don’t you think - ouch - it would be suspicious if I didn’t go into work tomorrow?” Lena winced at the cold alcohol.

“I can’t wait until Sam gets here.” Soon enough, Lena was cleaned up and headed to bed. She offered to let Jess sleep here but she declined and went home. Everything would be fine in the morning.

-

  
  


[Can we please pretend that instead of Sample Name it says Kara and the username is LittleDanvers. Please. I totally overlooked that and I just wanted to post this chapter. Thanks]

-

  
  


-

  


Three days had passed and the two heroes didn’t mention that night. They continued to tease each other and taunt, all for entertainment purposes. Lena wasn’t even sure if Supergirl would read the tweet, but she hoped Maggie at least got a good laugh out of it. Now that she had an established line with the detective through Hope, Lena was able to do more for the community. She could've easily hacked into the NCPD, but she and Maggie were actually hitting it off. As a joke, Maggie had asked Spider-Woman to swing by the precinct with donuts. Lena grabbed a couple of bills from her purse and headed to the donut shop.

"Spider-Woman!" The old man greeted happily. "Here for some donuts?" Lena nodded and bought two dozen. "You know, Supergirl gets donuts here too?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. She usually buys out half my shop," he smiled brightly at her. "Now, I've got two superheroes who eat here!" They took a picture together and he uploaded it on the website. Supergirl may be a lot of things, but at least she had good taste in sugary goodness. Lena went back home and threw on an NYSNC shirt (that she might have stolen from Kara's) and a pair of sweat pants. Only after that did she finally go to the precinct.

"I've got a delivery for Detective Maggie Sawyer." 

"Not now, we're-" The receptionist looked up. "Oh my God. Spider-Woman?" Her face was pure awe.

"Yep." The masked vigilante winked. "Can you show me to her office?" The woman nodded eagerly and practically bounced to Maggie's office. She kept looking back as if to make sure she wasn't seeing things. She got a lot of second looks as she walked by.

"Um, here we are." She gestured at the door that said Detective Sawyer on it. "Can I get a picture?"

"Sure." Lena balanced the two boxes on her head as she posed with the woman. "Hopefully, she'll share, eh?" With one last wink, Spider-Woman walked into the office. "Special delivery for one Maggie Sawyer."

"No fucking way." She looked up from her paperwork and stared at the masked vigilante. "You brought me donuts?"

Lena set the boxes down on her desk. "I mean, I was thinking that it would be for everyone, but hey. I ain't judging if you want them to yourself." She smiled inside the mask. Maggie was still staring at her.

"You just. Hold on." She stood up. "You went and bought donuts in that ridiculous outfit and just waltzed right through the precinct to bring me donuts?" Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "What do you want? I already have a girlfriend." Lena laughed at that.

"It's for our newfound friendship. And I didn't waltz in here, the lady at the front desk let me in and showed me where to go." Her spider-sense buzzed and she glanced back. "I think they saw the donuts. They want some, Detective. Are you really going to deny them from this little piece of heaven?" 

"I don't think it's the donuts they want," Maggie huffed. She grabbed the donuts and walked through her door, almost hitting two officers. "Thirty minutes, then it's back to work." Maggie grabbed an old fashioned and sat in a nearby seat. Nobody moved yet, still looking at the vigilante.

"Since I bought them, I think it's fair to say that I get one." Undisturbed by the staring, Lena walked over to the boxes. She carefully took off a glove and grabbed a glazed twisty one. She walked over to her new friend and sat down. She pulled her mask up so she could take a bite. "I swear I didn't poison them. Go ahead." Finally, a recruit stepped forward and that seemed to break the trance everyone was in.

"You didn't have to do this, you know."

"Well." Lena closed her mouth. Maggie knew what Lena Luthor sounded like. Why didn't she think this through? She pulled her mask down so she could speak. "I thought I should at least say hi to the NCPD. I just popped up out of nowhere and I'm working with their detective. Is it also bad I want brownie points with them against Supergirl?" She rolled her mask back up and continued to eat.

"The people in forensics love you already because you don't leave debris everywhere." Maggie looked over at the hero thoughtfully. "I wasn't sure about you before, but I think you're okay. You seem like a good kid." Lena nodded mutely and went for another donut. Why did Maggie insist on calling her kid no matter who she was? Even if she was still wary around Luthor, Lena was glad she at least was able to have this crime-fighting friendship.


	4. If you love me, let me go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based on 2x18. Two important characters get introduced in this chapter and more things will be moving in the background.
> 
> Does anyone have suggestions on what Jess' codename should be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the next chapter written but I realized some things and am going to rewrite almost the whole thing lmao. I'm receiving a lot of love for this fic and it means the world to me. I might do something a little different with the Instagram posts next chapter. Who knows, keep an eye out ;)

-

“Hey! What brings you to the rent-controlled side of town?” Kara opened her door and the smell of flour and smoke overwhelmed Lena’s nose for a second.

“Are you grief baking?” Lena walked in and raised an eyebrow.

“No.” Kara defended. Her spider-sense tingled with the buzz and Kara’s heartbeat skipped a beat.

“Liar.”

“Being unemployed is not fun anymore.” Kara pouted and set her apron down. “Wait, is everything okay?”

“Yeah. No. Absolutely. Uh..” Kara looked at her. “So today there is this press conference for Spheerical Industries’ new unveiling. Whatever they announce is gonna be the next big thing that everyone wants.” Lena fidgeted with her fingers.

“Are they your competition?”

“No.. um.. Their CEO, Jack Spheer and I, we… We used to be close.” Best friends. Until Jack revealed his feelings and not wanting to lose her friend, Lena agreed to date him. Even though she was ga-

“Until when?”

“Just before I moved to National City.”

“Oh, I see. So this is a, uh, recent closeness.” Time to change the topic.

“He sent me a personal invite to this press conference.”

“Are you gonna go?”

“Jack’s my Kryptonite. But it’s just gonna bring up a lot of painful things, and I’m not sure I can relive it.” Honestly, Lena didn’t want to go at all, but Jack was her friend for years, so she felt obligated to at least showup.

“But if your good friend Kara came with you…” she trailed off, going to grab her coat.

“...and had my back….” Lena continued, grabbing her bag.

“...it won’t be so hard to face him,” Kara finished.

“Thank you.”

“Oh, this is so much better than grief baking. And, I always have your back.” The smile she gave Lena almost made her heart melt.

“You’re my favorite,” Lena gushed honestly. “So, what’s your Kryptonite?”

“Um...Uh…Mike.” Lena nodded. Right. Her boyfriend.

“Want to grab something to eat real quick?”

“Of course,” Kara said as if it were obvious. Which, it was. 

**  
  
**

“Wow. That was impressive,” Kara whispered in awe once they left the room.

“It really was. I don’t know how he did it, but he did it.” Lena was skeptical, but she literally saw it before her own eyes. How did he manage it though? When they were working on it, the rats-

“Lena?” She turned around to see an old friend walk towards her.

“Harry?” She had a questioning look but when he came closer, it was indeed Harry from her time at MIT. They embraced each other and she pulled back slightly to look him over. “You look so good!” She then remembered Kara. “Oh! Kara, this is an old friend of mine, Harry Osborn. Harry, this is National City’s best reporter, Kara Danvers.”

“Harry Osborn, as in Norman Osborn’s son?”

“The very one.” Harry spread his arms and smiled that charming smile of his. “God, it’s been forever since I’ve seen you, Lee.” Kara’s heartbeat sped up and Lena glanced at her but she had an unreadable expression on her face.

“It has been a while. Is your father here?”

“Yeah, he’s smooching up with the other people. I bet you know what that’s like.” He nudged Lena with his elbow and winked playfully. Kara’s heartbeat once again sped up.

“I should probably go. I’ll text you later. It was nice meeting you, Harry.” Kara gave a curt nod and then she was gone.

“Did you finally get a girlfriend?” Harry once again nudged her arm.

“Keep it down,” she hissed. “No. She’s just my friend.”

“Oh?” Harry smirked down at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Lena Luthor!” Norman Osborn started to walk towards her and the people started to part like the red sea. That’s the amount of respect that man exuded.

“Mr. Osborn.” She extended her hand but he simply pulled her into a hug.

“Come on now, Lena. It’s Norman. I heard that you moved to National City with the company. How’s LuthorCorp?” He patted her shoulder. Harry shot him a look that she couldn’t read.

“It’s actually L-Corp now. It’s going great. We’re doing a lot of research in renewable energy.”

“Maybe we could do a business deal sometime in the future. I’m assuming you’re here because of Mr. Spheer? Shame it was that you two got together and not you and my boy.” Lena kept her neutral mask but fidgeted with her fingers behind her back. She liked Norman, she really did, but he liked Lex and his ideals way more. Plus, he just put her on edge, no spider-sense needed.

“Father, I think we’re needed over there.” Harry pointed in a direction and started to drag his father away. He mouthed ‘sorry’ to his friend and walked away. Just when she thought she was safe, Jack appeared.

-

Lena dialed Kara’s phone for the third time. Maybe she was panicking because she agreed for dinner with her ex. How dumb could she be?

“Hello?”

“You’re not Kara,” Lena accused. 

“Yeah, sorry. It’s M-Mike. Her boyfriend. She’s actually gone right now. Do you need anything?” He sounded genuine at least.

“I needed her to talk me out of this dinner. We’re going to the new Thai place right around the corner from L-Corp and I don’t want to go. Anyways, I’m sorry. Have a goodnight.” She hung up the phone and decided to get dressed. Might as well get this over with.

**  
  
  
**

“Thanks for coming. I know L-Corp is very demanding.” Jack smiled at her.

“I do enjoy it, you know. For what it’s worth.” If she could go back in time, she would’ve picked L-Corp over him over and over again.

“You always loved a challenge. You look stunning, by the way.”

“Oh my God! Are you guys eating here? We’re eating here,” a familiar voice called out. 

“What a complete and utter coincidence.” Lena couldn’t keep the stupid smile off her face no matter how hard she tried. 

“Ms. Danvers.”

“Yeah, this is my boyfriend, Mike,” she introduced before sitting down next to her best friend.

“Kara, I appreciate the rescue, but it’s not necessary,” Lena whispered to her.

“That’s what friends are for.” There was that signature smile that was reserved for Lena (at least, that’s what she liked to think).    
  


“So Jack, how’s Biomax rollout going?”

“Good, uh, it’s going good.” Jack was obviously confused by the newcomers, but Lena was secretly enjoying it.

“So, how did you know it was ready? Did you, uh, do any trials? Human trials?” Lena glanced at Kara. What was she getting at?

“It's all public record if you're curious.”

“How did you figure it out? I want to know,” Lena decided to ask. If Kara found something out, he wouldn’t answer to her.

“Is that the only reason you came?”

“No.”

“Uh, okay, so, a few months after you left, I stayed up all night.

And the sun came up, and there was a flock of starlings going by. And they were all moving in perfect sync. Like when one turned, all the others turned. And I thought, "I've made a terrible mistake. I should have gone with her. I'm no good without her.” And then I realized I had been modeling the nano swarm on the wrong kind of animal. See, bees need a base, a queen, to revolve around. We'd been trying to make a nanobot into a queen by programming a protective algorithm, but-”

“Oh, my God. Murmuration.” Why didn’t she think of that?

“Yeah.”

“The nano swarm, it migrates.”

“Yes.”

“It's linked to AI sentience.” If he really did perfect it, then maybe she could find a way to make her spider suit function without her in it.

“And it's all controlled through the Spheerical lab mainframe. And I would never have gotten there if I hadn't been thinking about you.” She smiled unsurely.

“Anyway, I-I was also wondering-” Kara started.

“Maybe another time.” If she was going to get him to talk more about his research, he wouldn’t if she were still here. Apparently, she understood that too.

“I just remembered that we have somewhere to be!” She gestured to herself and Mike.

“Yeah, I think Jack and I need to talk.”

“We- We are out. Because nothing gets in the way of romance.” Mike got up and talked briefly to Jack. Lena tuned it out but when he walked away, she caught him saying - “I stole Jack's security badge. You know, for journalism.” Interesting. She’d let this play out.

-

-

Lena smiled at the positive feedback she was getting from being Spider-Woman. She rolled her eyes when she noticed Winn’s comment. Kara’s nerd friend was probably having a field day trying to figure out how the suit worked. A knock got her attention.

“You're distracted,” Kara observed. 

“Busted.” Lena shrugged and closed out of the browser.

“So, uh -” Kara clicked her tongue- “Sorry about last night.”

“Yeah, that was, it was interesting” - “Weird.”

They both laughed. “Mike seems nice, though.”

“Yeah, he’s… nice.” She cleared her throat. “I actually came here to talk to you about Jack. Um, I've been investigating him. Lena, Biomax is dangerous and he's covering it up.”

“That's not true,” Lena tried to argue.

“I'm not lying.” Her heartbeat was as strong and steadfast as it normally is. Was it weird Lena found herself listening to Kara’s heartbeat when they hung out? Noooo.

“Well, then you're mistaken. Jack would never hurt anyone.” Kara pulled out her phone to show her the real tea.

“Biomax version 38. Human trial one.” He injected himself with the nanobots. “He's using the nano swarm to kill people.” Lena sighed. She knew Jack for such a long time, how could he possibly do this?

“Who else knows?”

“Just us.” Liar.

“I won't ask you to bury it, but please let me go talk to him before it gets out.”

“Lena, he's killed, two people. I know how you feel about him, but you will be the third if you confront him. Please just promise me you'll stay away from him for now. It's for your own safety,” Kara pleaded. There was no way she could stay away from this.

“Thank you for telling me.” Lena settled on saying.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ve actually got some work to do. Would you mind, Kara?” 

“Right, yeah. Of course. I'm really sorry.” She sounded so genuine.

“You were just doing your job. It's all any of us can do.” Once Kara left, Lena called Jess into her office.

“I’ll be going out. While I’m out, do you mind working with Hope on Spider-Bro?”

“Sweet!” Jess fist pumped. “I mean, no problem, Ms. Luthor.” She tried to keep a straight face. She failed.

-

“Jack?” Lena’s voice echoed in the mostly empty room.

“Hey. Uh, what's wrong?” Jack was confused. Even though she didn’t have her suit, she still climbed snuck in using her powers.

“You lied to me about Biomax.” It was best to be straight forward about it.

“What about it?”

“I saw the video, Jack. You shot those things into yourself. Faked the human trials. You killed people.”

“Killed people? I don't know what you're talking about.”

“You knew - We knew three years ago that the nano swarms had a side effect. The rats' brain chemistry was forever altered. They had no control. We could make them do whatever we wanted. You did this to yourself!” So he never figured out the problem. He made it worse.

“Lena, I don't know what you're talking about.” His heart sounded muffled but it was beating strong and her spider-sense was quiet.

“Oh, my God. You're telling the truth.” Suddenly, he went stiff and looked down. “Jack?”

“Ms. Luthor. He can’t hear you. No one can,” Beth announced as she walked into view.

“So who killed all those people?”

“Jack did. I mean, he didn't choose to, and he doesn't remember, but he did.”

“You've been controlling him this whole time.” Lena felt disgusted by this woman.

“The poor, sweet boy actually wanted to scrap the whole thing just because of a pesky little side effect that removes free will. Not financially responsible. Luckily, I was there to step in. You know, it's true what they say. Behind every great man is a strong woman.”

“Oh, I wouldn't know. I've never stood behind a man.” Honestly, that felt so good to say. She wished Hope could’ve recorded that.

“You just clean up after your brother. Idiot. You walked away from the breakthrough of the century.” She really wanted to punch this bitch in the face, but she needed more information.

“It doesn't work.”

“See, I think it works beautifully. I have a brilliant figurehead that will do everything I say. The entire world will welcome the nano swarm into every hospital, army base, and eventually, home.”

“God, you are repulsive.”

“I'm a realist.” Lena laughed loudly. “What's funny?” Beth seemed irritated. Good.

“Now you're going to kill me. That's the only reason you're telling me all of this.” She didn’t bring her web-shooters because she thought she could talk to Jack. She didn’t think she would walk into this shit show.

“Again, not very financially responsible. I already control Jack. Why would I kill you when I can control you, and, by extension, L-Corp? Think of that merger.” Beth pressed a button and Jack started moving. He got a syringe and started walking towards Lena.

“Okay, Jacky, put it down, all right? Jack, listen, I know you're in there somewhere, okay? You listen to me, all right?” The glass shattered and Supergirl flew straight to Lena picking her up and moving her a couple of feet away.

“Are you okay?” Supergirl looked Lena up and down intently and even used her x-ray vision to make sure nothing was wrong.

“Yeah.” She went and attacked Beth. She got kicked in the stomach and stuttered a few steps back.

“Did I mention that I'm a black belt?” Lena punched her straight in the face and was satisfied when she heard her nose break.

“Did I mention I was a Luthor?” She smiled triumphantly until she heard Supergirl struggling. “Jack, make it stop!” She broke the piece that Beth used to control him.

“Lena!” He called out in pain. “Lena, help! The mainframe.”

“I think I can override it!” She ran over to it.

“Lena, hurry!” Supergirl was almost consumed by the nanobots. She was using her freeze breath to try and slow them down.

“You'll kill him. The override destroys the nanobots. They've merged with him. You kill them, you kill him,” Beth muttered as she approached, holding her bloody nose. Lena knocked her out and stared helplessly at the monitor.

“I'm sorry, Jacky.”

“Do it. Please.” He looked at her desperately and she could see the pain in his eyes. Supergirl was nearly consumed. She hit the kill switch and watched as his body fell.

“I am so sorry, Jack.” She turned her back on his body.

“I’m sorry, Lena. I really am.” Lena stumbled into the hero and was surprised when Supergirl took her into a strong hug. She let herself melt into the hero and be held while she cried.

-

“Those are beautiful.”

“I wish there was more I could do to help.” Kara sat across from Lena on the couch after putting the flowers on the table.

“Oh, you came to see me. That's more than enough.” The comfort of her best friend was what she needed right now. She let Jess go home earlier and didn’t tell her anything. Perhaps Sam would connect the dots and tell her.

“Beth is in jail.”

“Good.” Lena idly smiled at the broken nose she had given her.

“How are you holding up?”

“When Lex was arrested, my mother was there. My mother saw her son dragged, bleeding and raving from her house. And when I got there, Lillian was tidying his room like he'd been away on a business trip. That's how I feel. Cold and calm. Until I think about Beth dying in jail, and then I feel warm for a minute.”

“You're in shock, Lena.”

“I don't know. Loss does strange things to my family, and I've lost a lot of people.” Maybe Spider-Woman wasn’t meant to be. Maybe she didn’t deserve to be a hero.

“Well, you're not gonna lose me.”

“I think when I feel things again, I'm gonna be very, very afraid of the person I might be.”

“You don't have to be afraid. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere.”

“Promise?” It was a bit childish, but so many people have left Lena in the past. She couldn’t bear it if Kara left her too.

“I will always be your friend. And I will always protect you. I promise.” They stayed cuddled up on the couch for a while, neither one of them talking. There wasn’t much to talk about anyways.

Sam did have a good point. Lena was smart, she can make another suit that’s bulletproof. At least then she wouldn’t have to take them out herself and stitch up her suit. 

-

Lena smiled as she sat on the rooftop. People still hated Lena Luthor but at least she was able to do good as Spider-Woman. In her costume, people talked to her and treated her like an actual human being. When it came down to it though, what was the difference between Spider-Woman and Lena Luthor? They both did their best to save the city. Lena literally called the cops on her mother and saved hundreds of aliens, yet she was still seen as a black sheep. She had Jess and Sam and Kara and that was enough, honestly, it was, but she just wished there were more people to see _her_. She wasn't her brother. She openly worked with Supergirl all the time. So why? Why was she still seen as worse than vermin?

"Detective Sawyer is calling, Boss."

"Put her through." Lena continued to gaze longingly at the city. It was ironic that she felt like she fit in when nobody knew who she was inside this mask but felt like such an outsider as the well-known CEO of L-Corp.

"Spidey? Hello?" Lena shook her head.

"Sorry, detective. Do you need anything?"

"Are you okay?" She sounded genuinely concerned.

"Do you need anything?" She echoed.

"I was going to go on patrol tonight. Want to be my partner?"

"I'll be at the precinct in 3 minutes. End call." She got up and started swinging to her destination.

"Are you okay, Boss? It is recommended to be with friends during times of grief," Hope chirped.

"I'll be fine, Hope. Let Jess know where I'll be."

"Right away."

"You ready for the best two hours of your life?" Maggie greeted as she walked up to the vigilante.

"I think I'll die from excitement," she commented dryly. They got into the patrol vehicle and Lena took to staring out the window. She'd been on two patrols with the detective before and not much usually happened. The most exciting thing to happen the past two times was catching someone breaking and entering. Into their own house.

"You're awfully quiet." Which was true. Lena was usually joking around or engaging Maggie in conversation about random things that weren't too personal.

"I saw the news. About Lena Luthor and Jack Spheer. It seems awful."

"Yeah." The red light cast an ominous glow on her partner. "I feel bad for the kid, you know? I'm a detective so I can find the hidden truths and fight for justice, but I might've prejudged that Luthor. My girlfriend's sister won't shut up about how good she is and how she's nothing like her brother. I didn't want to believe her at first, but she was right. I feel bad for being a dick to her." The light turned green and the car drove forward.

"So why don't you apologize?" Lena was genuinely curious.

"I don't know." Maggie shrugged. "I don't think she would want to see me after how I arrested her. Her secretary is a force to be reckoned with, too." She laughed. "Anyway. Next time something goes down, I'll be on her side. She deserves that much at least."

"How about we ditch patrol and get some food? I'm hungry." Lena's eyes were watery and she was glad the voice modulator didn't translate how her voice cracked.

"You're always hungry, Spidey. I still think Supergirl eats more though," she teased.

"I would question how she looks so fit, but it's probably because of her Kryptonian DNA. One time, when it was raining, I swore I saw a solid six-pack on her."

"Oh?" Maggie raised her eyebrow and turned the corner. "You noticed that through the rain?"

"Uh, well. Yeah. I do have enhanced eyesight, you know that, right? The goggles actually tone everything down for me. Hey, is that Taco Bell? I am so craving that. Please, Maggie?" Lena looked towards her partner. They both knew she could easily just go by herself, but the cop decided to humor her.

"Fine. You know, I'm kind of glad you have a mask on. Supergirl uses her pout on Alex all the time and she always caves. You'd be easy to say no to." They pulled into the parking lot and Lena practically flew out. Junk food made her comfortable and Maggie wasn't bad company.

"You'd never say no to me, Mags?" She held the door open for her. "After all, Spider-Cop is your favorite partner." She smirked but realized she couldn't see it.

"You are such a nerd. I wonder if you play video games all day long in your mom's basement or something." Lena reached for her pocket but remembered the suit didn't have any. "I've got it, Spider-Cop." Maggie laughed and ordered for them both. The cashier stared in awe for a minute before getting back to work. Once the food was ready, the employees took pictures with Spider-Woman.

"Remember, while the mask is up, I don't talk." Maggie nodded as they sat down at a table in the corner. Lena removed her gloves and pulled her mask up. She happily grabbed a taco and started eating.

"Did I tell you how Alex and I started dating?" Lena shook her head. "It's a funny story, actually. So..." Lena happily let herself be distracted by her .... friend? The detective was good at storytelling so it was easy for her to get engaged. Even after they finished eating and were back in the police car, Maggie continued telling stories. Her first time at a shooting range. The first time she rode a motorcycle. Once the patrol was over, they said goodbye and Lena went home feeling lighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't use it much but:
> 
> [my tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked)


	5. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Spider centric than Lena this chapter. Some good Maggie and Lena Brotp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got queerbaited into watching Supergirl and I haven't seen any of season 5 but it seems bad rn, so here's an update. No Kara in this chapter though, sorry. I rewrote this chapter at least 3 different times. I wanted to establish Maggie/Lena's friendship more and move things in the background before the next chapter.
> 
> Everyone seems to love the social media/texting portion of this fic. Should I make a side fic full of the textposts and stuff? I would be down.
> 
> I updated the tags. 0.0

Before this chapter gets started, look at this amazing fan art! The links are in the comments of last chapter. So beautiful, thanks a bunch CJ! <3

  
  
-

-

  
-

Lena felt like she was doing good. She and Jess had finished Spider-Bro, a small drone that would do recon when she needed it. She also finished her taser webs and was starting on a new suit. This one would be black and gold and have even more upgrades than her Mark 1. It also would be bulletproof and have more web combinations. She’d been Spider-Woman for almost 2 months now and she and Supergirl’s relationship was still the same bantering that it normally was.

L-Corp was working on improving solar panels and Lena was thinking of having a fundraiser to install them in low-income neighborhoods. Hope was installed in her house, suit, and in her office now. The AI was good company and answered all of her answers diligently. She and Dr. Octavius’s project was coming together. They started working on the arms and would move onto the chip soon. What used to be Spheer’s Industry was now Oscorp. Norman had bought it and was renovating it so he could work in National City. She and Harry had been messaging each other about it recently.

  
  


It was still early in the day but Lena needed to escape her office. She spent most of the morning looking through spreadsheets then reviewing the numbers from accounting. Once the suit was fully on, Lena climbed onto the roof of her building. Another upgrade to her suit was: web-wings. This would help her glide through the city and save some webbing. She stood on the edge of the building, took a deep breath, then jumped off. She spread her arms and started to glide. It worked! As she was getting closer to the tops of regular-sized buildings, a red blur was speeding towards her. If she hadn’t used her web-shooters to move out of the way, Supergirl would’ve flown right into her.

“Real mature,” Lena muttered. She walked down the length of the building, waving at the people inside who spotted her. Once she got to the ground, she started walking around.

Everyone thinks that being a hero means rescuing aliens from Cadmus all the time or bringing down crime lords. Yeah, that’s a big part of it, but there were gaps in time between all that stuff. That’s why Lena walked the streets of National City while in her costume. Sometimes people would approach her and ask for help or compliment her or high five her as she walked by. Her favorite part was visiting hospitals and talking to the patients or going to schools and reading to the children. She made sure Jess cleared her schedule once a week so she could do either one of those things.

“Yo, Spider-Dude!” Lena turned to the guy who called her.

“Hi.” He gave her a high five.

“Keep helping the little people.” 

She received a couple of hugs, but most people just fist-bumped her as she walked by. She was walking by when she noticed CatCo a couple of blocks in front of her.

“But Mom, she’s out there! And I haven’t even met her yet.” A child said.

“Carter. I don’t want you out there by yourself looking for trouble,” Cat said sternly. Lena knew where she was going next.

She only met Carter once and he didn’t talk much, but he was polite and he even smiled at her. That meant a lot. Once she got to the building, she walked up the side casually and flipped onto Cat’s balcony. She was at her desk while Carter was on the couch doing homework.

“Hello, Cat.”

“Spider-Woman. I wasn’t expecting an interview.” She took her glasses off and looked at her with a questioning look. Carter gasped and was looking between his mom and the hero.

“Spider-Woman!” She walked towards him and sat on the opposite couch.

“Hey, kiddo.” She waved at him and smiled when he was staring at her in shock. “Sorry for dropping by unannounced, but I heard from a little birdy that Carter wanted to meet me.” She extended her and to the boy. “I’m Spider-Woman. It’s nice to meet you.”

He shook her hand and then looked at her hand confused. “Why didn’t any webs come out when I pressed it?” Lena almost forgot that he was a genius as well.

“I put different amounts of pressure on the release button to release different kinds of webs. For example, I double tap it when I’m swinging through the city. It’s just so I don’t accidentally web everything up when I close my fists,” she explained easily.

“You do realize he’s going to grill you about it now, right?” Cat asked.

“I have some time to spare.” Lena shrugged. She took off one of the web-shooters to show Carter the mechanics.

“If that’s true, why haven’t we had that dinner you mentioned the last time you were here?” Lena’s hands stopped as she looked up.

“Sorry? I don’t remember mentioning a dinner during the interview.” Surely she would have remembered.

“No, you didn’t. I mean the last time you visited CatCo.” It seemed like Cat looked straight through the mask, straight into her eyes. The lenses widened in realization.

“Cat Grant, Queen of all Media,” Lena said with awe in her voice. She managed to hide her double life from everybody and somehow Cat figured it out. “I would like to say I’m surprised, but I don’t think I am.” She laughed until she was hit in the face with some of her webbing.

“I’m so sorry!” Carter dropped the web-shooter he was playing with.

“It’s okay, Carter.” Lena easily pulled the goop off her face and put it on the table. She turned to Cat. “You know who Supergirl is.”

“I do.”

“I wonder if she’s as much as an as-” she glanced at Carter who was playing with the webs - “if she’s as annoying when she’s not flying around in a cheerleading costume.”

“What are these made of? Are the real spider webs” Carter raised the web to eye level.

“No, I make these actually. I got the idea from-”

“Sorry about that, Ms. Grant. There was-” Kara stopped dead in her tracks. “Hello.”

“Hi.” Officially, Spider-Woman and Kara never met, so she had to be careful about what she said.

“Oh, Kara! We were just talking about you.” Cat winked at Lena. She probably said that to mess with Kara and to make her a bit uneasy. “Spider-Woman, this is Kara Danvers. Kara, Spider-Woman.” They shook hands.

“Here are the papers you asked me for.” She handed the papers still staring at Spider-Woman who was talking to Carter. “Guess I’ll just, uh, head out now.” Kara tried to sneak out but Cat wanted to see how they would act around each other.

“Stay, stay. It’s best to use this opportunity to learn about our spider friend. Carter, can you go downstairs and give these papers to Jimmy Olsen, please?” Her son grabbed the papers and headed out of the office.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kara. What do you do here at CatCo?” 

“Reporter.” Kara sat stiffly across her.

“Oh, that’s cool.” Why was she being short with her? “I think some reporters can be heroes in their own way, you know. Fighting justice with their words instead of their fists.”

“You don’t even fight with your fists. You just web people up then swing away,” Kara rolled her eyes. Cinnamon roll Kara Danvers rolled her eyes at her. Cat snickered.

“I’m sorry. I always alert the NCPD when I apprehend suspects so they aren’t in the webs for long. I know it can get uncomfortable after a while.”

“Do you?” Kara rubbed her wrists subconsciously. She had to break the wall and laser the webs off of her on their first encounter.

“Well, I guess I don’t. My webs don’t stick to me as much. I’m sorry, have I offended you in any way? If I did, I’m sorry.” Lena was replaying the conversation over and over in her head and couldn’t find where she went wrong.

“No, I’m sorry. It’s just that Supergirl and I are close friends and she doesn’t like your webbing.” Lena laughed and tried to hide it with a cough.

“Right. Well, I’m not so fond of her flying, so I guess we’re even then?” At that, Kara laughed.

“Maybe you should stay close to the ground then. You know, since you can’t actually fly,” Kara smirked. 

“I see. Maybe you should stick to reporting then, not small talk.” Spider-Woman stood up. Who knew there was another side to her best friend? Sure, they teased each other, but it was never this playful taunting. It kind of reminded her of the Girl of Steel. “I’ve got to get going. Nice seeing you again, Cat. Nice meeting you, Ms. Danvers.” Lena walked over to the balcony and did a slide flip off, opening her arms to glide across the city.

“Have fun saving cats out of trees,” she swore she heard Kara say.

Spider-Woman landed onto L-Corp’s balcony and changed in her room. She really ought to finish her extra pair of web-shooters. She was trying to have a watch and a bracelet turn into her web-shooters. The nanotechnology was a bit difficult to play around with, but once she mastered this, she’d be able to make a suit in the same fashion.

  


After work, she went home and worked in her lab until Hope kicked her out at 2 in the morning. She turned off the technology and refused to turn it back on until she got some sleep. (Lena knew Sam and Jess had somehow convinced her AI to do this, but she wasn’t going to complain. Her friends were just looking out for her)

  


Lena woke up early, as usual, and went into the kitchen to make some breakfast. She didn’t have any plans today except to tinker in her lab. She was close to figuring out the web-shooters. She also needed to make new web fluid. And add the taser webs to her suit. And work on the new suit. So many things to do, so little time.

  


  
“Incoming call from Detective Sawyer. Do you want me to put her through?” Hope asked from the ceiling. Lena nodded as she poured pancake batter into a bowl. She then opened the fridge to grab the eggs and milk.

“Good morning, detective,” Lena greeted. She frowned when saw that she only had half a dozen eggs left. “Remind me to go grocery shopping later, Hope.”

“Right away, Boss.”

“Are you in your house right now?” Maggie asked.

“Yeah, making breakfast actually.” Lena cracked a few eggs and added it into the bowl. She decided to make an omelet with the rest of her eggs. She walked to the windowsill and pulled some bell peppers from the plant. “What, you think I just wear my mask around all day waiting for you to call?”

“Sorry, it’s kind of odd to think about you being a person outside of the suit,” Maggie laughed to herself. “I’ve got a lead on this case I’m working on, but I don’t have enough evidence to get a warrant to search his place. Figured I’d give you a call so you can scope the place out for me.”

“Why don’t you ask your other super friend?” She poured the batter onto the pan.

“This needs some finesse and stealth. I think he’s doing drug deals in his art museum, so I don’t want a bull in the china shop if you know what I mean.” Lena laughed openly at that. She knew that Maggie cared about Supergirl but still teased her when she could. That made it all the funnier.

“No problem, detective. Just send me the location and I’ll check it out later.” She opened the fridge again and was disappointed to see that she had no more apple juice. “Can you make a grocery list for me, Hope? Apple juice, eggs, milk,” Lena listed off things she needed for the week.

“That’s an extensive list,” Maggie sniggered.

“I’ve got a big appetite. Is there something else I could help you with, Maggie?” Lena thought she had hung up already.

“I wanted to see if later, you wanted to hang out. Once a month, a couple of cops from the precinct and I free-run around the city for fun. We get on a roof and parkour into the night.”

“You parkour?” Lena smiled as she ate her food.

“Hey, some criminals try to get smart when they’re running away! This makes it easier to catch them,” she defended. “I just thought it might be a cool little exercise.”

“Send me the time and location and I’ll be there.”

“Sweet! See you then, Spidey.” The phone call ended and Lena fondly rolled her eyes. After finishing her breakfast, she headed back to the lab.

Work on the new suit or web-shooters? Suit or web-shooters? Lena went to the back of her lab and started gathering materials. Her Mark I was made out of breathable material and, as a result, it could get pierced. This time, she was going to use the nanotechnology and nth metal to make a bullet-proof suit. Hopefully while making this one, she could crack the code in making it collapsible. Or at least open up so all she had to do was step inside and it would encase her. 

-

Lena arrived at the precinct at 9 pm sharp. She had on her spider mask, a sports bra with a generic black t-shirt, leggings, and running shoes. 

“Nice outfit, Spidey,” Maggie came up to her and they shared a fist bump. “I think you should save National City in this instead,” she winked playfully.

“So I can knock the criminals out when they’re staring at me? Good idea. I would’ve brought my suit, but I’m currently installing some upgrades in it. I’m also updating Hope, so.” Lena shrugged her shoulders.

“You update your AI?” They started walking towards a car that Lena noticed had a couple of people mingling around it.

“Yeah. It’s a couple of tune-ups and I’m hoping to connect her even more with my suit,” Lena waved her hand in the air. “Complicated geek stuff.”

“And you do all this in your mom’s basement? Impressive,” she teased. “My friend, Winn, has been dying to look at your suit. Or nerd out about it.”

“Is his Instagram ‘alwayswinning’?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“He comments on my posts about the suit. I find it endearing.” Lena smiled. She really did.

“You read the comments?” Maggie looked borderline horrified.

“Sometimes, yeah. It’s because I’m literally the coolest.” Lena nudged her friend with her elbow playfully.

“Shut up,” she muttered. Lena laughed. “Hey everyone! One spider, as promised. Spider-Woman, these are my most trusted friends here. Gonzalez, Jackon, Robbins, and Captain Saenz.” Lena shook each of their hands.

“You’re the Captain?” She halted in front of him. Thinking about it, she has only seen him once.

“Yeah. It’s nice to finally meet you. I know the amount of trust my detective puts in you, so don’t be afraid to come by if you ever need help.” Lena blushed and was happy the mask covered it.

“Uh, guys?” Jackson spoke up. “You do realize that my car only sits five people, right?” They looked around at each other and noticed there were six of them.

“No problem.” Lena started to take off her shoes. “I’ll be on top.” She hopped onto the roof of the car gently. Her socks were the same thin material as her suit that allowed her to stick.

“You’re sticky without your suit?” Chase asked.

“Yeah. I’m intuitive, but I haven’t figured out how to make my suit stick without me yet.” After finishing the Mark II, Lena was going to try and figure out how to emulate her stickiness onto the suit.

“Come on! I call shotgun!” Maggie hopped into the passenger side of the vehicle.

“I’m driving. Keys?” The captain held out his hand and Jackson threw them to him.

Lena decided that she liked car surfing. They went onto the freeway and she felt the cool wind hit her body. It almost felt as if she were swinging through the city, but she was completely at the mercy of the people in the car under her. Since when had she started trusting so easily? She wasn’t sure if it was because of the mask or because they were Maggie’s friends. They ended up in a part of the city that she hadn’t been to before. It was the lower class part, she realized. Exactly where she wanted to install the solar panels. At least she can do a little bit of reconnaissance while on the roofs.

“Try to keep up, yeah?” Maggie smirked at her.

“Maybe I should add a feature to my mask so you can tell when I’m rolling my eyes.”

“Good thing I don’t have a mask. I can roll my eyes at you all I want.” Maggie rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. They both laughed.

Chase walked over to a building that looked a little rundown and started to scale the wall using the pipes. Her friends followed suit. This building seemed a bit taller than the others. Lena could see the lights from the main city twinkling in the background.

“You ready?” Saenz looked at the group. Everyone nodded. “Let’s go.” Lena took to trailing behind them. Saenz was at the front of the group taking point. Gonzalez and Chase were behind him. Then Maggie and Jackson. Lena watched in awe as they jumped off the roof of this building onto another. It was at least a five-foot gap and they jumped it with no hesitation. They would jump onto the top of railings and drop down from walls and Chase even did a side flip over a smaller gap. They were absolutely fearless. No wonder they became cops.

They eventually ended up at the last building on the row. Instead of turning back around, Saenz picked his way down by jumping back and forward from two buildings. The others followed suit. Then they were sprinting through the city. Jumping over walls. Sliding under railings. It was kind of exhilarating. Lena would much rather do this than a regular jog through the park.

“So?” Maggie huffed. “Better than playing games in your basement, eh?” Her chest was heaving heavily but she had a giant smile on her face.

“If I didn’t have my spider-powers, I’m pretty sure you all would have lost me after the second or third building.” Lena lifted her mask some so she could breathe the crisp air properly. She was a bit winded herself. Sure she fought crime every day, but she never really properly worked out like this.

“I’m going to be so sore tomorrow.” Gonzalez stretched her arms over her head.

“Same,” Chase was leaning against a wall for support.

“Same,” Jackson echoed.

“Maybe I should have the precinct do more runs. This was nothing. I can’t have my cops being tired out in the field,” Saenz poked fun at his friends.

“Come on, Capt. That’s ridiculous,” Maggie started. The others looked at her gratefully. “I think we should do runs and the obstacle course at least once a week.” The cops groaned and the captain laughed.

“How come you don’t look as tired, detective?” Lena asked after she pulled her mask back down.

“My girlfriend sometimes asks for my help with FBI cases and I am running more often than not. And Supergirl seems to forget she has super speed. It’s a pain catching up to her when she flies off.”

“Isn’t Maggie the coolest? She works with Supergirl and Spider-Woman,” Gonzalez gushed.

“It’s all fun and games until I inevitably get kidnapped. Anyways, we’re gonna head to the car. Catch up when you can catch your breath,” Maggie smirked and started to walk away. Lena followed.

“An obstacle course, eh?” Lena asked. 

“The captain has the lowest time on it as of right now. I’m close to beating it, though. Next time I’ll definitely beat him.” She smiled at the spider.

“I don’t doubt that.” They walked a block in silence. Lena’s ears picked up someone crying up ahead. “There’s trouble. I’m assuming you’re not carrying, right?” She glanced at the cop who was in her workout clothes.

“Nope. Doesn’t look like you are either. We should call the cops.” Maggie reached for her pocket and groaned in annoyance when she realized she didn’t have any.

“I’ve got this.” They walked to the alleyway Lena heard the sound come from. A woman who was obviously not from this part of town was backed up against the wall by a man in a mask. He was holding a knife.

“Woah, slow down. What’s going on here?” The man turned around and stared at the two women.

“You better get out of here. Or I’ll hurt you too.” He turned back to the woman.

“Oh, you will?” Lena picked up an empty can and threw it at the guy. “Can you please step away from the young lady?”

“Oh my god,” Maggie whispered.

“What’s with the stupid mask, huh?” He started moving towards Lena and the woman ran straight past him. She heard Maggie trying to calm her down.

“I like to think it brings out my eyes.” Lena didn’t have her web-shooters, but she still had her natural webs. She was grossed out thinking about using the.

“I’ll tear it right off ya.” He made a show of swinging his knife around.

“Not a knife,” Lena sounded scared. “Is that a real knife?”

“Yes, it’s a real knife.” He seemed to glow at her fear.

“My weakness- it’s small knives.” Lena got on her knees and cowered under the man who was now looming under her. She then grabbed his leg and pulled towards her at the same time she pushed him back. He quickly fell to the floor and groaned in pain. She defeated him and didn’t even need her webs!

“Seriously? You’re so dramatic.” Maggie shook her head. “The cops are on their way. Should be here any minute.” The masked vigilante nodded her head and started walking towards her friend. As she took a step forward, her spider-sense went off. She jumped straight up and twisted in the air to see that a knife was where she was standing a second ago.

She landed and began dodging the knife. She knew she had to disarm him but he was quick. She raised her hand and shot a web at him. The knife flew out of his hand and stuck to the wall. She then webbed his arms to his body and cringed. It was such a disgusting feeling and her wrist was tingling.

“Did that just-” Maggie looked at the man and her arms that didn’t have any web-shooters - “come out of you?” She looked awed and repulsed at the same time.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” The small slit on her wrist closed and she wiped away some of the webbings that remained.

“That is so gross. Cool. But gross.” The detective stared at the spider for a long moment. “So when you’re in bed and you’re about to-”

“Nope!” Lena backed away. “Don’t want to talk about it. Nope. Not today, not ever.”

“The name Spider-Woman seems extremely appropriate now,” Maggie commented. Lena kind of wished the ground would open below her and swallow her whole.

After everything was settled, Lena was back on the roof of the car. There were hardly any cars on the freeway, so they breezed right by. She saw a billboard in the distance and snickered when she saw it. She had Hope take a picture so she could post it later.

“It was nice meeting you, Spider-Woman.” The captain held out his hand for another handshake. “Will you be joining us next month as well?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” she promised as she took the handshake. They nodded at each other and went their separate ways. She said goodbye to the other officers and soon enough it was just her and Maggie again.

“Do you use your webs because you don’t know how to fight?” She asked as they walked into the precinct so the detective could grab her things.

“I know how to fight!” Lena quickly defended. She does! The assassination attempts on her life forced her to learn to defend herself.

“Right. That’s why you use your webs?” Okay so maybe Lena didn’t exactly know how to fight attackers. The silence seemed to answer her question. “I could teach you how to fight if you want. I can’t have my friend looking stupid out there, can I? I’ll even make sure you look cooler than Supergirl.” Lena smiled broadly at that. This was the first time Maggie had actually called her friend.

“If you insist.”

“Cool. I’ll tell Hope the details.” Only a handful of people knew about Hope. Maggie knew not to openly say anything about it. Lena wanted her artificial intelligence to remain secret so people wouldn’t try to hack her or try to emulate her. “See you later, Spideling.”

“In a while, Maggie-ile. Whatever.” Lena jumped onto a roof and started to parkour home. The suit was coming together. If she continued at this pace, it should be finished by next week. Hope kicked her out at 2 am again and Lena happily went to bed.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact. I took that last picture. So. In Supergirl, National City is Los Angeles, right? Well, funnily enough, about 2 hours south from L.A. is an actual city named National City. I don't live too far from there and I snagged this picture when I was in the neighborhood. Thoughts on posting pictures of the actual city? I may also have pictures os L.A. somewhere, I go there pretty often, if you want that too?


	6. The Effect You Have on Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious person shows up. A sprinkle of angst :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got super restless and busted this out today. It's the longest chapter in the fic so far, I think. I've never written Spider-Man villains before and I suck at fight scenes, so I apologize. I didn't even proofread this so have fun y'all

“Again.” Lena shakily stood up.

“We’ve been at this for about an hour already,” Maggie chuckled. “You’re already better than you were last week.”

“True.” She stretched her arms over her head. “You were still able to drop me, though.”

“I haven’t taught you that move yet is all. You’re a fast learner, don’t worry about it.”

“I have Hope record our practices so I can review them at home.” She idly tapped her mask.

“Nerd.” Maggie elbowed her friend. “I’ve got work to get to. See you next week.” They waved goodbye and Lena swung home, going straight to her lab once she got inside.

She was able to figure out the nanobots. With every outfit, she wore a watch and a silver bracelet that would transform into web-shooters when activated. As a result of this breakthrough, she was able to make the Mark II collapsible. The suit was practically finished, but it could use a little bit more tweaking. In front of her, on her lab table, were discarded wires, webs, and materials. The important thing, though, was the golden spider. It was small but fit perfectly in her palm. It was also a bit thick and bulky, but Lena was proud of it nevertheless because her suit was confined in it. Once she put it to her chest, the spider would sync with her heartbeat and the suit would envelop her.

(This was a little bit of a pain in the ass for the vigilante. At first, the suit couldn’t differentiate between heartbeats. She recorded hers and then placed it on Jess. Jess was surprised when the suit jumped her. Lena then added Hope into the suit and it worked a bit better. She had spent all day recording her heartbeat at resting, then when she was running, and so on and so on. It took about two days, but it finally worked.)

The Mark II was completely bulletproof. She had brought it to the NCPD’s shooting range and attached it to one of the moving targets. Maggie shot it up and there were no dents or scratches on it. Lena took a video and sent it to Sam so her friend could worry a little less. With this suit, the CEO decided to do something a little different and added built-in web-shooters. It was attached to the suit a little lower than she normally had it, but it was to help with attacks. Speaking of web-shooters, the web combinations were successfully programmed in. Normal webs, taser webs, rapid-fire, and magnetic webbing to interfere with certain technology.

After creating more web fluid and putting them in her current web-shooters, Lena was at her work desk going through her email and resuming her CEO duties. She honestly couldn’t wait until Sam moved to National City. Lena loved L-Corp because of all the good she’s done, all the changes she’s made, but it was exhausting. Just yesterday she had to fire one of her employees from the IT department because he was being xenophobic towards one of the alien workers. Then she caught someone trying to steal money from the company. And of course, there was another assassination attempt. The only good that happened this week was when Kara had brought her lunch and when Jess told Morgan Edge off. That brought a smile to her face.

If she was being honest with herself, she would rather be Spider-Woman than Lena Luthor any day. Lena had to deal with sexist board members, her brother trying to kill her every other week, people sneering at her in public, hate comments on her social media, and death threats. Not to mention the absolute stress of running a multi-billion company at 24. She was capable, of course, but it didn’t make the work any easier. Lena had just finished college and was going to resume her research on genetic mutations (ironic, she knows) until her brother killed hundreds of people. That’s when she was thrust headfirst into running her family’s company. She didn’t have to, of course. She did have the choice not to. But she felt so guilty for her brother’s crime that she had to use the platform and influence of LutherCorp for good. And she was getting there. Jess made things easier for her, of course, but it was tiring. She felt the stress in her bones.

Lena never truly got to be a kid. She had to be a Luthor. That meant professional and curt and cold and no time to be a child. Only studies and fancy parties and trying to impress Lex with inventions she forced herself to learn to make. Then it was boarding school where once it again it was about being proper and posh and studies. She managed to skip a couple of grades because of how much she put into her studies, but it didn’t matter. Once she was done with school, she was going to be groomed to be Lex’s assistant. The only time she got to feel like a teenager was when she met Veronica Sinclair. They rebelled and did ridiculous dares and snuck out and were trouble makers to spite their parents. But then Lena graduated and went to college.

Spider-Woman was a free spirit. She could swing around the city and do flips and tricks in the air if she wanted to without anyone looking down on her for it ( except J.J. Jameson ). She could make witty jokes and quips and people would actually laugh. She could be funny and people would actually  _ laugh _ instead of scoff or calling her immature. The people adored her and looked up to her. Kids wore her spider symbol because they believed in her and trusted her. She could have a conversation with anyone in the street. She could drop by the NCPD and work with the cops on her lunch break. She could be loved and accepted and it felt so good. It felt good to be seen as something other than a monster. All Lena wanted to do was help other people and bring a little bit of light into the darkness that seems to loom over the world. At least she had Kara. And Sam, Ruby, Jess, and Maggie. They believed in her.

“Jess?” Lena called for her assistant. “What’s the rest of my day looking like?”

“You have a meeting with Mr. Lord at 11 and a phone call with Mr. Wayne at 12:30. After that, the evening is lab time. You were thinking of working with Dr. Octavius or personal lab time.”

“What does Lord want this time?” She huffed. God, that man was infuriating. He and Edge really grinded her gears.

“I’m not sure. He said a drone of his was stolen and he wanted to talk to you about it.”

“Why?” Was he going to come all the way over here to accuse her of things she didn’t even do? “After my meeting with him, I’m going out.” She was dying to have a test run her new suit.

“Of course, Ms. Luthor.” Jess left and Lena had about an hour before Maxwell showed up. She continued to go through her emails.

“You’re wasting your time if you think I stole it,” Lena announced as she waltzed into the business room.

“Lena Luthor. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” He extended his hand and she shook it firmly as she sat across from him.

“What do you want? You’re acting civil.” He only ever played nice when he wanted something.

“A while back, the government made a military weapon, code name Red Tornado. The FBI needed my help tracking it down when it went rogue and you know me. I was more than happy to help, of course.” He smiled but there was a hint of nervousness in his voice. He licked his lips. “The technology was remarkable. It could camouflage itself while also being a weapon of destruction. It could shoot lasers and bullets. Anyway, I decided to try and replicate it in drone form. Just for my personal use, of course.” His heart was hammering.

“My assistant told me that the drone was stolen.” Lena raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, it was. I’m willing to put my hubris aside and ask for help. The drone has military-grade weaponry and I might have made five different versions? I know we have had our differences, but I would rather go to you for help than admitting to the FBI what I did.”

“How’d it go missing in the first place?”

“I don’t know.” She had never seen Maxwell look so angry before. “I have a mole. It was an inside job and the footage was destroyed and the backups were put on loops throughout the entire building. I don’t know who did it, but that means that whoever did this is extremely talented and smart. Who knows what they’re going to do with them?” At least he had a conscience to at least be worried about the possible consequences.

“What’s in it for me?” Of course, Lena was going to help but, well, she was a business person, wasn’t she?

“Stocks in my company. Research notes. Some technology. An IOU. I need these drones to be found ASAP before the government finds out what I did.” Should Lena feel bad for reveling at his unfortunate situation? Probably. Did she? No.

“We have a deal, Mr. Lord. I’ll have Jess send you some papers you will sign so we can have this agreement in writing. I would say I’ll take your word for it, but I don’t.” She smiled coldly at him as she stood up.

“I expect nothing less from a Luthor.” They shook hands and she was surprised that her last name was used as a praise instead of an insult. It made her feel weird. She walked straight out and into her elevator without another word. Lena went into her room and removed her shoes. She took off her dress shirt and dress pants before putting the spider to her chest. The black and gold armor spread around her body. It was cool to the touch, but not uncomfortable.

She climbed to the roof of her building and stood on the edge. She shot a web into the void of the city and watched it fly away in the air. This was a new suit with new web-shooters so she hoped for the best as she leaped off. Lena aimed and shot her web and swung a little too close to the ground for comfort. Right. The web-shooters were a bit lower than normal so there was a second delay than what she’s used to. She added that into her next calculation and swung better than the first one. Eventually, she found her rhythm and made it to CatCo. She stuck onto the side of the building and surveyed the city below her. Her stickiness worked too. Hope relayed an address to her and followed her directions to the crime. When she put any of her suits on, Lena had Hope notify the detective so she could respond to crime faster.

She ended up in a parking garage. There were about 20 people doing an arms deal. She was so glad she had her bulletproof armor on.

“Incoming call from Detective Sawyer,” Hope announced.

“Accept. What am I doing here, Mags?” Lena climbed onto the upper level to look down on them. Currently, they were trying to negotiate a deal.

“These are heavy guns, AR-15’s if my intel is correct. I hope you’re in your new suit?” She had Hope x-ray the black van and sure enough, there was a crate full of assault rifles.

“Aw, you care about me. I am. Do you want me to web them up or catch them in the act on film?”

“See, this is what I like about you, Spidey. You look before you leap. Supergirl just flies in. Catch them doing the exchange then web them up and then call it in.”

“Coolio.” Lena cringed as soon as she said that. She has been spending too much time with Kara. “So. Dinner with Alex, her sister, and boyfriend tonight, right?” Lena climbed closer to the deal and had Hope start recording.

“Yeah,” Maggie sighed. Someone opened the back doors to the van and took the crate out. “I like her sister, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know. We’re friendly but not friends.”

“Why not? I thought she was sunshine and goodness or something like that.” 

“Hey, is that Spider-Woman?” One called and everyone’s eyes turned towards her. She dropped down and spread her hands.

“Show me what you got. Or better yet, I’ll show you!” The men were running for their guns and started shooting at her.

“That was so lame, oh my God,” Maggie laughed. The bullets bounced off her but they still stung. Like getting hit by a paintball.

“Incoming call from Bruce Wayne,” Hope said.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Lena shot a web in someone's face.

“What? What’s wrong?” Maggie asked. Lena webbed a guy’s chest, jumped into the air and did a backflip, bringing the guy down into the ground as she did so.

“I’m putting you on hold. Answer the call, Hope.”

“Ms. Luthor,” Bruce greeted.

“Mr. Wayne.” The remaining five men continued to shoot at her. Didn’t they realize that the bullets didn’t work?

“What’s that sound?” Next upgrade: Make sure the people in the mask couldn’t hear outside the mask.

“Oh, I’m watching an action movie.” Lena used the rapid-fire feature to web them against a pilar together.

“You’re out of breath.” He sounded amused for some reason.

“I ran up a flight of stairs, I’m sorry. So, I heard you’re doing a new orphanage program in Gotham and I was wondering if you were interested in expanding the program to National City.” Lena started picking up the discarded weapons and putting them in the crate. The conversation continued for another ten minutes until they were both pleased with the arrangement. “Sorry about that, detective. Everyone is webbed up and ready to go.”

“I can’t believe you put me on hold when you were in the middle of an arm’s deal.”

“It had an awkward beginning. With the shooting and everything.” Lena sat on top of the van, her legs kicking the air as she waited for the cops.

“Did you say you were playing video games? Since you do that all day, I mean,” Maggie continued with her ongoing gag. “People nearby called in shots fired so some of my boys should be there soon.”

“I’ll wait until they get here, just in case. Good luck with the dinner, Maggie. You’ve got this.”

“Thanks, Spidey.” The call ended and Lena observed her suit. Still no dents. She did notice that her left web-shooter was slightly heavier than her right one and that irked her. She had to add in the thing for phone calls. The rapid-fire webs seemed to work, but they could be faster. She’ll fix the adjustments and try again in a couple of days. It was pretty decent for a test run though.

“Hope, send the footage to Captain Saenz.”

“Got it, Boss.” Lena smiled. Hope was everything she could have wished for and more.

-

“I thought I made myself clear.” Lena stood up and crossed her arms at Rhea. “Our business is done. Now get out of my office before I call security.”

“I’m the one who hasn’t made myself clear, Lena. And I’m sorry for that. You were right. I lied to you. I pretended to be of this world but only because I know how much your mother lodes aliens and I presumed you would be the same.” Rhea’s heartbeat was steady.

“That’s what people do when they hear I’m a Luthor. They presume.” They always presumed. She has alien employees for fuck’s sake. Not that she would ever announce that, of course. She didn’t want to put anyone in danger.

“Everything else I told you was the truth.” God, Lena wished her heartbeat would quiver or skip a beat or do anything but continue to keep the strong, steady beat it was. “Being betrayed by your own blood. There’s nothing more painful. I know you understand that.” Lena thought back to her loving older brother who would hide them in a treehouse high up in a tree to escape their father. Then the tree house turned into a prison cell, a silver gate separating the two.

“What do you want from me?”

“I want exactly what I proposed.” She stepped closer and her spider-sense was still quiet. “I want us to work together to create a transmatter portal. We have them where I come from. L-Corp has already built a large-scale generator ring. We can easily adapt it for this. The portal would help your planet immensely and it would help me get home to mine.”

“I don’t work with people I can’t trust.”

“I made a mistake. You are nothing like your mother, I see that now. Please, Lena. Don’t let my lapse in judgment keep us from doing great things.” She sounded so genuine. And who was Lena to blame her? Her sixth sense wasn’t sensing any danger and she wasn’t lying.

“I’ll think about it.” She settled on saying. She’d have to ask Jess for advice.

“That’s all I can ask.” Lena turned back to her table and sat down, signaling Rhea’s dismissal. She spent the next hour and a half working in her office to make plans for a gala for both the orphanage project she was working on with Mr. Wayne and the solar panel project. She timed it so Sam would already be in town. That way, Lena could show her CFO the ropes.

Lena walked into her room and changed into her og suit. The Mark II was back at her house. She hadn’t had time to add the changes from the other day. She jumped off the roof of her building and spread her wings. This was something she definitely missed in her new suit. She was gliding along peacefully until her spider-sense went off like crazy. The hairs all over her body stood up and suddenly she was falling. She tried to shoot a web to right herself but the red blur knocked into her again.

“Hope?” The floor was coming quickly and she managed to shoot a web, but she was already so low. It felt like her arm was going to be torn off with the harsh swing. She hit a pole and skidded onto the middle of the street.

“It’s Supergirl, Boss. But there are drones, too. A projection,” Hope sounded worried. A projection? Before she could even think about it, she was kicked across the street. Her ribs made a delicious crack sound. She looked up to see Supergirl looming over her, arms crossed, smile smug. She grabbed Lena by the throat to chokeslam her on the concrete. Her whole body shook as she attempted to stand up. She could taste the blood in her mouth.

“Supergirl, what are you doing?” She croaked. This time, Lena was able to dodge the fist that came at her. It hurt like fuck but the adrenaline kept her alert. The Girl of Steel didn’t answer but kept attacking. “Drones. What did you say about drones?” Lena webbed herself to a building and started to swing away. The person easily grabbed her by her foot and slammed her into the ground. She was pretty sure all her ribs were broken at this point.

“There are drones following this person. Upon the scans, this person is not of Kyprotnian origin. Normal human being with a suit on and projections.” Okay, it wasn’t Supergirl. But, why did it feel like it was her punching?

“I know you’re not Supergirl.” Spider-Woman stood defiantly in the middle of the street. There was a group of people surrounding them. Watching. Recording.

They cocked their head as if to say, oh yeah? Lena’s leg felt like it was on fire. The Not-Supergirl was using heat vision and she swore her skin was melting. She screamed out in pain and stumbled back into the ground. This was an unfair fight as she was caught off guard. By the time she realized what was happening, she was already impaired.

“There is room for only one hero in this city. And it’s me,” Fake Supergirl announced in her voice. She heat-blasted Lena’s other leg so the vigilante couldn’t stand up. A knife easily found itself into her side. Her head was swimming with pain and her ears were ringing so loud it was overwhelming. She registered being picked up but then all the felt was coldness. Numbing coldness.

“Detective! It’s Boss!” Lena passed out.

  
  


Lena felt like lead. Her mouth was dry and she felt hungover. Did she go to a party last night? Lena tried to lift her head up but it ended up lolling to the side. The sudden motion made her throw up. She blacked out again.

Lena’s mouth tasted funny. Like mint. Her head felt funny. Like it was full of cotton. She felt detached from her body. She opened her eyes to find a blaring white ceiling. The lights were too bright. She closed her eyes and tried to roll on her side but she fell off the bed. She decided to sleep on the floor.

This time when Lena woke up, she didn’t pass out. She took her time waking up instead. The first thing she felt was an aching pain throughout her body. The second was that she was in a cocoon of sorts. She felt warm. Safe. Carefully, she opened her eyes and was thankful that the lights were dimmed. She noticed that she was entangled in a giant blob of webs. As she wriggled around, the aching in her body seemed to lessen until it felt like a soreness.

“Are you awake?” Jess called from somewhere below her.

“Yeah. How do I get down?” Lena shifted in her webs until the front of her body was parallel to the ground.

“What if I used a broom?” Someone asked. Lena placed the voice as Maggie’s.

“Maybe,” Jess answered after a moment of contemplation.

“No! I’ve got it.” Lena ripped the webs as if it were tissue paper and she landed on all fours. Her legs hurt the most so she sat down. Maggie and Jess picked her up and placed her on the cot she kept in her medical lab. She was about to ask what happened but then remembered the fight. “I got my ass kicked, didn’t I?

“Sure seems like it, kid.” Maggie looked at her sympathetically. Lena’s whole body tensed up as she realized that Maggie Sawyer was in her house, in her basement, looking at her sans mask.

“I’m not wearing my mask.” The damage was done, she knew that, but she wanted it anyway so she could hide. Maggie knew Lena Luthor was Spider-Woman.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I really tried not to look, but you were choking with it on. Then, Jess brought us here, so.” Maggie genuinely looked apologetic.

“It’s my fault, Boss,” Hope spoke from the ceiling. Her AI sounded, timid? The lights dimmed slightly. “After the battle, it was wise to call Detective Sawyer before Jessica since she was closest. Calling her first gave you the best chance at survival.”

“It’s okay, Hope. I’m not mad. Thank you for saving me,” Lena honestly said.

“Always, Boss.”

“Thank you both as well. What happened?”

“Well, I was on my way to save Alex when Hope called me. I got there as fast as I could but the fake Supergirl was gone. A paramedic was doing CPR on you and another one was applying burn balm to your legs when I showed up. It took some convincing, but I was able to steal you from them. Thankfully that’s when Jess showed up. We put you in the back and I took your mask off because you started to choke on your blood. I carried you here and Jess got to work. If the stitches aren’t straight, you know who to blame.”

“You were bleeding a lot! I was in a rush to stitch you up while Maggie dealt with plugging you in so we can monitor your vitals. It was touch and go, but you pulled through. You were fine for a couple of days-”

“I had to clean up your vomit, Luthor. That’s gross.” Maggie crossed her arms but didn’t seem too upset.

“-but then you just crawled up the wall and spun a web and stayed there for a few days.”

“It was kind of creepy. Like exorcist creepy. You looked like an actual spider.” Maggie stared at the webbing on the ceiling. “I thought you went up there to die or something but Hope said you were too cold and too hurt so you made that to protect yourself. Since then, we’ve been checking in periodically.” Lena let all that information sink in.

“So… How long was I out in total?” Lena hated to ask, but she needed to know. The women exchanged uneasy looks.

“Today is the 5th day, Lena,” Jess reluctantly admitted.

“5th day?” Lena tried to stand up again but felt light-headed. “What about my company? I had an important meeting with Ms. Prince. And the board. Oh, and Rhea! What about her? Kara. What does Kara think? Oh no, did you tell Sam? What-” She leaned into Maggie. She did not feel good.

“Woah, slow down kid. You haven’t eaten anything in a while and I know you have a crazy appetite. How about you shower and get dressed and I’ll order food. Then we’ll sit down and talk everything out?” Lena nodded.

“Jess?” Her assistant was at her side instantly. She helped lug her up the stairs into the bathroom.

“I’ll get some clothes for you.” Lena nodded. The lights were dimmed for her thankfully. She went and turned the water on, setting the temperature the way she normally liked it. “Take your time. You want Chinese?” Lena nodded again. Jess knew that was her comfort food ( ~~that may or may not have been because of a certain reporter~~ ).

“So. First thing I want to know is about L-Corp.” Lena looked over to Jess as she ate a potsticker. It was fairly late, almost 10, but both women stayed with her.

“There was an accident in the lab while you were working and so you are currently working from home. I let Ms. Prince know that you, unfortunately, lost your voice from the chemicals until further notice. The board postponed the meeting until next month before I even had to say anything. Rhea has started the project but said she would wait for you to recover to continue,” Jess dutifully reported. Lena nodded along and started to dig into her rice.

“As for Kara, she tried to come over multiple times. I’ve been able to keep her away but I’m pretty sure she’s going to break the door down any day now. I’ve been texting as you so she didn’t think you were dead. On an unrelated note, you have your house lined with lead?”

“Oh, God.” Lena pulled out her phone and started reading over the messages. They were mostly short on her part, which she was thankful for. Lena sent her a text. “Yes. I  _ am _ a Luthor. I didn’t want any Supers snooping around my house.” Maggie nodded thoughtfully.

“You should call Sam later. She’s pretty freaked out. Maggie sent the group chat a picture of you in a cocoon.” Jess rolled her eyes. “Cat Grant also sent flowers and hopes you’re okay. I texted her from your phone letting her know that you’re not dead.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lena continued to eat in silence while the other two chatted. “Where does Alex think you are right now?” As far as Lena knew, they lived together.

“Told her that I’m watching over Spider-Woman.” Maggie slurped her noodles nonchalantly. “She’s a bit annoyed that I’ve been away, but she knows superheroes come first. Even unconscious you’re a handful to deal with. Jess and I took turns watching over you.”

“Thanks again, both of you.” Lena ate as much as she could and she finally pushed her plate away. “So where are we with fake Supergirl?”

“When the real Supergirl came out, a dude called Mysterio confronted her. He had Kryptonite gas and she had to retreat, naturally. We believe this Mysterio person is the one who tried to kill you. People are calling him a hero. CatCo has stayed quiet on the issue since Cat can’t say anything or else she’ll expose that she knows both of your identities. J.J. Jameson swooped in and is praising Mysterio.” Maggie frowned. “I don’t know how he’s doing it though. It has to be some sort of illusion.”

“Illusions.” Lena tried to remember what Hope was telling her during the battle. “Hope, you said he was using drones or something?”

“Drones and a projection.”

“Maxwell Lord said his drones were stolen,” Jess spoke up in realization.

“And the new projection prototype that was stolen that day we met!” Maggie continued.

“That explains why they were able to look like Supergirl. And use laser vision.”

“Wait, what’s this about Lord and drones?” Maggie backtracked.

“Doesn’t matter,” Lena rushed. “Hope, you were able to see the drones, right? If I tweak the lenses on my Mark II, I can see them too. If I get rid of them, I can expose him.” Lena’s thoughts were racing around her head. “What happened to my suit?”

“It’s damaged. I was able to mostly fix it up though with Hope.” Lena nodded. She was attached to her suit, okay? It was her baby.

“What day is it?”

“Sunday.”

“And I’m out of the office until further notice?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to go to my lab and work on the upgrades for my suit.” Lena made to stand up but two pairs of arms pulled her down.

“I know you’re eager to get back out there, but you still need to rest.” Maggie passed her a glass of water. Lena didn’t even realize how thirsty she was until the class was empty.

“Fine. You two can go home, I promise I’ll go to bed. You can even have Hope lock the lab.”

“Hope, lock the lab,” Maggie said as she looked up.

“Yes, Detective Sawyer.”

“You don’t need to look at her to talk to her,” Lena playfully chided.

“I still can’t get over how cool she is. And you can just call me, Detective, Hope. Or Maggie.”

“I have to change it myself. She’ll answer to other people, but ultimately she’s loyal to me.” Sam had Hope calling her ridiculous things, so she decided to lock that control.

“Hey, Lena?” Maggie hung back after Jess left. Lena hummed in acknowledgment while she put the leftovers away. “I know you didn’t explicitly tell me, but thank you for trusting me with your secret identity. It must’ve been hard for you to talk to me at first because of how we met, huh?”

“You were just doing your job.”

“Yeah, but I could have been nicer about it.” Maggie rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m sorry for prejudging you. Thank you for putting your trust in me after that. Would it be too sappy of me to say that Spidey has become almost like my best friend?”

“Yes. Way too sappy for you, especially since you kick my ass once a week.” Lena closed the fridge and tentatively smiled at the detective. “I hope that my being a Luthor doesn’t change anything between us, though.” She felt so light and almost careless when she was with Maggie in her mask. She didn’t want that to change.

“All it changes is the type of jokes I make. God, I would hate it if I was in Lillian’s basement. Or her house in general. I am so sorry for you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Get out of here so I can go to bed.”

“Okay, okay.” Maggie backed towards the door with her hands in a surrendering position. “Some friendly advice: ask Kara on a proper date already. I wouldn’t say I was snooping, per se, but I was reading some messages so I could text like you, right? And really? Goodnight and good morning texts? That is so domestic-” she ducked in time to avoid being hit by a roll of paper towels “-I’m just saying!” She opened the door to shield herself from a pan. “Better yet, try and woe Supergirl. I know how you look at her when she’s not looking.” Lena was shoving her out the door now. “I bet you have Hope record her so you can stare at those muscles and-”

“Out!” Lena’s face was properly flushed. “I am regretting you knowing already. And I do not have a crush on Supergirl!” She shouted after the detective who was mounting her motorcycle.

“Sure you don’t,” she heard Maggie mutter before driving off. Lena crossed her arms and huffed. Supergirl was a goody-two-shoes who believed in morals that were obnoxiously so kindergarten. Not everybody was a good person for fuck’s sake. Her brother proved that. Was it kind of attractive that she whole-heartedly believed in people? Possibly. But she was a Super. And Lena was a Luthor. It sounded like a bad twist on Romeo and Juliet - a Luthor and a Super together. It probably would end in each other’s deaths. Although it was a bit intoxicating to think about. Supergirl saw the good in Lena and rescued her without a problem. Sometimes, she would even drop by the office to check in on her if she stayed too late. Kara had a boyfriend and as far as she knew, Supergirl was single. Could she really do that though? Stupid Maggie putting stupid thoughts in her head. She was going to bed.

-

“Show yourself, coward!” Lena had pin-pointed Mysterio’s location to this warehouse two days after she woke up. Realistically she should have told Maggie so she could have back up but she didn’t want to put the detective in any danger.

“So the Spider lives.” A guy appeared a couple of feet in front of her. He had a fishbowl helmet that obscured his face with a green suit and a red cape.

“That’s a Lex-o-suit,” Lena pointed out.

“You like it? I modified it myself.” She tried to use x-ray vision but it wasn’t working. In fact, she couldn’t see the drones that were following Mysterio.

“Hope?” The AI stayed silent. “What’d you do to my suit? How’d you even find Lex Luthor’s things?” Maybe she should have called back up after all.

“Lex was a brilliant man, but he went about it all wrong.” Great, he was going to monologue, wasn’t he? “Instead of attacking the heroes, he should have made the people see that they were evil! Me trying to kill you wasn’t personal. I actually admire you, Spider-Woman since you’re human like us. I needed to kill you so Supergirl would be seen as a menace. And it worked! Mostly.” Great, she had a xenophobic fan.

“What you’re doing is wrong. I don’t know how you got ahold of Lex’s stuff, but you’re dangerous and you need to be stopped.” Lena shot a web towards him but it caught on fire before it even reached him. At least her web-shooters still worked.

“You could have continued to live peacefully. I see that you’re going to stand against me so you’re going to have to be eliminated.” He sounded remorseful. He waved his hand and Lena was enveloped in darkness. She knew she was still in the warehouse but it was pitch black. Not even with her super eyesight could she see anything.

She closed her eyes and felt bullets shoot at her. Her spider-sense was making her whole body buzz but she tried to use her ears to track the drones that way. She heard a faint buzzing not too far from her left and she ran that way. She honed in on the drone and when it was right in front of her, she used her new magnetic webbing. The drone dropped to the floor. One down, four to go. The buzzing seemed to increase as if it were coming from all over the room. He must have figured out that she was trying to use her hearing.

“Help!” Her eyes snapped open and in the center of the room was Maggie tied to a chair. “Help me!”

“Maggie!” Lena ran over to her friend and as she went to untie the ropes, a bomb exploded. She fell back with a grunt. “Show yourself!”

“Spider-Woman!” She heard someone call from outside. Despite this illusion, she ran out. Mysterio was flying in the air, his left hand around Supergirl’s neck as he choked her. “He’s- Kryptonite.” Her veins were glowing green. Lena shot web after web at him. He was webbed up tightly and she ran over to catch the falling hero. She dived to reach Supergirl before she fell but she ended up diving off a cliff. Her head made contact with the ground below her as well as the rest of her body. She definitely had a concussion.

“Stop this!” Lena began to climb the cliff behind her. Once she made it to the top, she was once again surrounded in darkness.

“Spider-Woman!” Officer Chase was standing in front of her with her gun pointed at Carter. “I-I can’t stop. He’s making me!” Her arm was shaking. Carter stood stiff, completely petrified.

“Help me, Spider-Woman! I don’t want to die!” Carter cried. Before Lena could even shoot a web, the gunshot echoed into the night.

“No!” Her head felt rattled and her body ached but she stumbled over to the boy. His body was real. The blood that was coming out of the bullet wound was real. She tried to stop the bleeding with her hands but it was coming out faster and faster. “Stay with me, Carter. Stay with me bud.” His breathing was ragged.

“You let me die.” His eyes glasses over and he went limp.

“No. NO! This is all fake. It’s just an illusion. This is fake.” Lena muttered as she stumbled away from the body. The blood was still on her suit and his body still lay there.

“Carter!” Cat ran over to her dead son. “You!” She stalked over to Lena and shoved her finger into her chest. “You killed my son! Some hero you are! You shouldn’t even be a hero. You’re useless. You can’t do anything right by yourself. You put on the mask to pretend like you are better than us, but you’re a monster. The person underneath is a monster who is trying to hide the truth about themselves. Pathetic. You’re pathetic.” This isn’t real. This is fake. Fake. Fake. But it felt so real. The pain was real. The words cut deep. Lena stumbled backward until she crashed into a wall.

“Weak, little spider. You thought you could surpass me? A god?” Supergirl sneered down at Lena. “You’re nothing. A nobody. Soon enough, people will forget all about Spider-Woman.”

“I was never your friend. I just pretended. It was pathetic to watch you try so hard to win the people over. What are you trying to prove? Who are you really?” Maggie stood next Supergirl. “You try to make yourself look big when you are actually so small.” The two women grew and were towering over her. She never felt so weak and tiny before.

“Supergirl will always be better than you.” Cat joined in. “You were a mistake.”

“Mistake,” Carter echoed.

“Mistake.”

“Pathetic.”

“Weak.”

“Stop it!” Lena jumped up and punched in front of her. The air rippled as the drone cracked under her fist.

“Did I get under your skin?” The voice echoed around her. Lena tried to focus on the buzzing sound of the drones. “It seems like I hit a sore spot.” Lena jumped up and shot her magnetic web at the drone she punched. 3 more to go. The illusion grew weaker.

A laser was starting to pierce her suit and she followed it to the source and rendered that drone useless. Two more remained and the illusion dropped completely. She saw Mysterio not too far from where she currently was. She charged at him. They were pretty even in hand-to-hand combat since he had her brother’s suit to amplify his speed and strength. She threw him in the air, shot two webs at him, and pulled down with all her might. He hit the ground so hard it created a small indent in the ground.

“You can’t trick me anymore.” She webbed him to the floor and took off his helmet.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” he murmured. She knocked him out.

“Boss!”

“Hope! Oh, thank God.” Lena laid her back against the warehouse. The drones were scattered around the place and her body hurt. “I never want to fight that guy again.”

“Spider-Woman?” Supergirl asked as she landed.

“Supergirl?” She glanced over at Mysterio’s body. “How do I know your real?” She suddenly stood up and was on the defensive. Was this another trick?

“What do you mean? What’s wrong?” She took a step forward and Lena held out her wrist.

“Don’t take another step. I’m warning you!” 

“What happened?” She stepped forward again and Lena shot a web at her face.

“Stay away!” She climbed to the roof. What if he was tricking her again? Sirens were approaching and Supergirl stood dumbfounded on the ground. “Hope, are any illusions active?”

“All drones are offline. No illusions, Boss.” Lena’s heart was racing. She had to get out of here. She had to check on Carter. Make sure he was still alive. Just in case. She leaped off the rooftop and ran away despite everyone’s confusion. She had to go to see Cat.

Lena knocked frantically on Cat Grant’s door still in her suit. “Who the fu- Lena?” Cat was wearing a robe and her hair was askew. It was dark out, but Lena hadn’t even considered the time. Nor did she consider anything as she lunged forward and clung onto the woman.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. Is Carter here? Is he okay?” She pulled back and she knew she wasn’t making any sense but she had to make sure the boy genius was ok.

“He’s here. Are you alright?” Cat stepped aside so Lena could enter her house.

“Was becoming Spider-Woman a mistake?” Lena tore off her mask and the dizziness came in at full force when the lights were turned on. She stumbled to the couch and practically fell on it. Her head. Why was it always her head?

“No. Lena, what happened? You come knocking like a mad man on my door at 3 in the morning on a workday. Now you’re not making any sense.”

Lena tried to even out her breathing. “Mysterio.” She put a hand to her head and winced. Cat got up and returned a minute later with an icepack The vigilante gratefully took it and gingerly put it to her head. “He uses illusion technology. I- It was horrible.” He was telling her things she told herself at night. Weak. Pathetic. A mistake. Cat’s face softened.

“I don’t know what happened, but Spider-Woman was not a mistake, Lena.”

“What have I even accomplished? Nothing. I haven’t saved the world like Supergirl has. I’m useless. I’m playing dress-up and pretending to be something I’m not. I’m pathetic and weak. Spider-Woman was my escape from who I am. She was supposed to be the hero. But even she’s a fraud too.”

“Lena Luthor.” She couldn’t place the tone Cat was using. “I don’t know what he said to you, but don’t let him get under your skin.  _ He’s _ the one who was playing dress-up and pretending to be a hero. Yes, Supergirl has done some remarkable things and saved the world, but you are just starting out. It hasn’t even been three months. Supergirl spreads hope and Spider-Woman spreads joy. I know about the hospital visits and the tutoring. You are the youngest CEO in the United States yet you still have time to put on a suit and fight crimes and pay attention to children. That’s all disregarding what you’ve done at L-Corp.” Cat sighed heavily. “You are not weak. Pathetic for thinking so? Yes. Pathetic for needing me to remind you how important you are? Yes. But you aren’t weak and pathetic. You are Lena Luthor. Spider-Woman. You are strong and resilient.”

Lena didn’t even know she was crying until Cat wiped some tears away. “I’m sorry,” she croaked.

“It’s okay.” Cat put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She felt bad for the young woman. She knew she was practically alone in this world with only a few friends. Her mother is the devil’s incarnate. Her brother is a mass killer. If Cat had to give up a few hours of sleep to be a surrogate mentor/mother figure to her, then so be it. It was the least she could do.

“He showed me an illusion of Carter dying. He used you and Maggie and Supergirl against me. He knows that I’m close to you. You could be in danger.” Lena should’ve been smarter about who she hung out with in costume.

“Oh, please. I’ve got your spider and Supergirl on speed dial. We know the risks when it comes to hanging out with heros, so don’t beat yourself up over it. The illusion wasn’t real. Carter is safe. You could probably hear his snores from here.” Lena concentrated and did hear soft snores from down the hallway.

“Now that Mysterio is in custody, I believe that someone has to clear Supergirl’s name. I’ll give you an interview if you need one,” Lena offered. It was the least she could do after disturbing the woman.

“I’ll have Kara bring us lunch. Perhaps she’ll join us,” Cat smirked and raised a teasing eyebrow.

“One, she has a boyfriend. Two, I think she hates me. Spider me, I mean.”

“Hmm. What about Supergirl?”

“You know what’s funny? Maggie said the same thing.” Cat resisted the urge to facepalm.

“Will you be able to make it home by yourself?”

“Yeah. My head doesn’t feel like it’s going to crack open anymore.” Lena put her mask back on. “Thank you, Cat. For everything.”

“Not a problem, Spider-Woman.” Lena smiled under the mask. She was ready to go home and sleep off the day.

-

“What do you mean you’re going to D.C?” Lena heard as she walked into the office.

“You’re going to D.C?”

“Calm down, children.” Cat removed her glasses and stared at the two women. “It’s for business, I’ll be there for less than a week.”

“When are you leaving?” Lena perched herself on top of the couch opposite from Kara who looked at her curiously.

“Tomorrow. There’s food on the table.” She waved at the take out containers.

“You couldn’t have told me that earlier?” Lena hadn’t had Mexican food in a fat minute. “You can’t just leave!” She had the suit retract a bit so she could use her hand to pick up the taco properly. The mouth part of her suit retracted too so she could eat.

“I didn’t realize you and Cat were close,” Kara commented stiffly. Her eyes narrowed at Lena.

“Oh, please. You don’t need me.” She ate some of her salad. “And it seems as if I have become a mentor to superheroes. God knows they have issues.” Lena suppressed a laugh and Kara rolled her eyes.

“Mrs. Grant told me you're here to clear Supergirl’s name,” the reporter started. Spider-Woman nodded as she ate another taco. Street tacos were the best. Perhaps she could ask Kara to bring her some the next time they had lunch. “I bet she appreciates you doing that for her.”

Lena swallowed and her mask covered her face once again. “Well, I would hope so. A thank you wouldn’t hurt after this is all over.” She went back to eating.

“Why didn’t you call Maggie? She could have called Supergirl to assist you.” Lena held up a finger and Cat laughed.

“So she could get blasted with Kryptonite? Mysterio had one of m-” Lena coughed. “One of Lex Luthor’s suits. She could have been seriously injured, so it was a good thing I hadn’t called anyone.” She paused. “You do realize that I’ve stopped a train from going off the tracks with nothing but my bare hands and some webs? I’m not a fragile child, I know what I’m doing.”

“You nearly died from him just last week! I’m not saying that you don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re not invincible. You could die from what you’re doing.”

“You think I don’t know that?” She stood up. “What’s it to you, anyway? Are you Supergirl or something?” Kara’s heartbeat skyrocketed in her chest.

“Everybody calm down,” Cat announced. Lena took a deep breath and sat down, crossing her arms as she did so.

“Right. So Mysterio was using drones and a projection…”

Once the interview was over, Lena went back to L-Corp to help Rhea with the portal. So far, she hasn’t been successful, but she’s determined to help Rhea get home.

-

“Thanks for catching lunch with me,” Kara beamed the next day.

“Yeah, well, since I had to cancel the last three times and you said you couldn’t get away, I figured you’d be worth the extra effort.” Was that too cheesy? Kara’s smile grew.

“Yeah, what’s keeping you busy?”

“Top secret.” Kara gave her that cute little face and Lena relented. “I’ve got a new partner. I can’t say too much about it yet, but I’ll be sure to give you an exclusive when it’s finished.” Well, it wasn’t a complete lie. Lena hated lying to her best friend, but after her reaction yesterday, she was even less willing to tell Kara about her alter ego.

“I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve properly hung out.” Lena pursed her lips.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. The lab explosion left me in really bad shape and you know how Jess is. Then I’ve been in business meetings nonstop or working on this side project,” she smiled faintly. “I’m just a bit all over the place.”

“You know you can talk to me, Lee.” Kara held her hand and Lena’s heartbeat slightly picked up.

“The same goes for you too, you know.” She squeezed her friend’s hand slightly and her heartbeat picked up a little too. Her phone rang and the moment was over. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this. It’s my partner.”

“It’s alright. Don’t be a stranger.” They shared a tight embrace and Lena answered her phone. Back to the lab it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How'd I do? I wanted Mysterio to fit into this universe so in my head, it made sense for him to hate Supergirl because she's an alien. Still debating Lex's role in this fic so I kept his role super vague. I'm leaning towards using him but hmmm idk he's too smart for me and I don't want to butcher his character.
> 
> Mysterio. I wanted to use the comic for him but figured Far From Home would've been a bit better as inspiration because of the way I introduced him. Next chapter will be the Daxamite invasion and I'm not completely sure what direction I want to go with it or where in the episode I want to jump in yet yikes.


	7. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a filler and a little bit of Maggie's POV for a second. Sets everything up so the beginning of the next chapter is already the invasion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just gotta say I fucking love Nicole and Rubys Instagrams. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.  
> I did not proof read this chapter at all y'all I just wanted to post some Supercorp content. I also wanted to have the "love square" interacting with each other, so enjoy that xD

Lena narrowed her eyes at the calculations on the paper. She was designing this portal so it would be a one-way trip into space for one spaceship. One person. So why had her numbers been multiplied for something bigger? These numbers were practically 10 times larger than what she had written down. Something wasn’t right.

“Hey, Rhea. What planet did you say you were from?” She walked over to the woman who was working away on a computer.

“Oh, just this little planet called Daxam,” she said idly as she continued to run simulations. That was important. Why was it important? She decided to store that information away for later.

“This portal is supposed to open up and bring you home to Daxam, correct?”

“Mhm. Is something wrong?” Rhea finally looked up from the simulation and Lena was sure to place her neutral face on.

“No, not at all. I was just a bit curious as to where you’re from.” Lena offered a smile and that was enough to placid the distracted woman. “I’ve really got to be going now.” She gave a curt nod and headed into the elevator, pulling her phone out as she did so.

“You’re still here?” Jess asked as she was packing up for the day.

“It’s only 5:30,” the CEO dismissed. “I won’t stay too late, I promise.”

“Right.” Jess shook her head. “You have a meeting with the board members tomorrow at 9 am.”

“Thank you for the reminder. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Lena waved and walked into her office just as she heard the wooshing of Supergirl’s cape. “Hey stranger,” she greeted.

“Hey, Lena.” The hero walked over to the couch while Lena opted to sit at her desk. “I know we haven’t seen each other in a while, but I’m assuming you didn’t have Kara ask for me because of that?”

“Unfortunately. Do you know about a planet called Daxam?”  It was subtle, but Lena noticed how her shoulders squared and her jaw set.

“I do. Can I ask why?” 

“It came up in one of Lex’s entries,” Lena remembered. “It was close to Krypton, right?”

“It was a neighboring planet. If I looked up, I could see it. Though, our people didn’t exactly get along.” That’s why she remembered it. Lex had a diagram of the solar system Krypton was in. She had only looked over it briefly while looking into his research on the Supers but she was glad she had an excuse to talk about it now.

“Forgive me for asking, but was it destroyed with your planet?” Lena did feel guilty for asking but she needed to figure out Rhea’s angel.

“Yeah.” The Super’s face fell and her eyes glossed over as she reminisced. Lena stood up and sat down next to her friend. “While Krypton was exploding, pieces of the planet started to rain down on other planets. It was pretty much like the sky was falling. From a Daxamite I know, the planet was destroyed along with mine.” Lena looked at the person next to her and for a second she looked so human. So… fragile.

“I’m sorry about your planet, Supergirl.” What could one even say to her? They’ve been friends for a while but Lena never truly thought about how much the alien had lost. Everyone knew her planet was destroyed, yeah, but the implications of what that meant - her whole culture, her friends and family, her whole life destroyed. She knew Superman arrived as a baby but it was unclear when Supergirl got here. She felt as if it were too personal to ask.

“So Daxam is destroyed.” Then what was Rhea’s angle? Was she trying to go to a different planet? That didn’t seem likely. She was obviously hiding something. The calculations on her paper being increased… “You said you have a Daxamite friend. Is it possible that there are others?”

“He was the only one who made it to Earth, but yes, there are others.” Supergirl paused and looked over at the raven-haired woman. “You seem oddly invested in this topic?” She tried to mimic Lena’s eyebrow raise, which caused her to laugh good-naturally.

“Darling, you’ll never be able to master the Luthor eyebrow raise.” To prove her point, Lena raised her perfect eyebrow playfully. They both laughed and she chose not to answer the question. “I saw that Cat excused you of your crimes against Spider-Woman. It seems like you’re off the hook for now,” Lena winked. “Or is it web?” She thought about it but decided to be quiet. Right now she was businesswoman Lena Luthor who did not make spider jokes, not her alter ego who could joke all she wanted.

“I’m offended!” Supergirl mockingly put a hand over her heart. “Did you really think I would attack National City’s favorite spider?” She pouted slightly as if Lena’s opinion actually mattered.

“I know she’s not your favorite person in the world,” Lena said carefully. “I knew it wasn’t you though. You fight with grace. Mysterio was all about brute strength. Typical of a man, really.” She poured herself a cup of water to distract herself.

“You think I fight with grace?” Supergirl asked timidly. Lena spared a glance and saw that she was… blushing? No. It was probably too hot in here was all.

The CEO took a drink of her water to try and calm her nerves. “From what I’ve seen, yeah.” She suddenly felt a little hot too. Maybe there was something wrong with the heater in her room. She’d have to look into that later.

Supergirl tilted her head to the side and sighed. “There are two aliens going at it near the waterfront and it seems to be getting out of hand.” She stood up. “Don’t stay too late, Lena.”

“Why does everyone keep telling me that?” She chuckled quietly to herself. “I’ll be seeing you around, Supergirl.” In a blink of an eye, the alien was already in the air zooming to her destination. There were more Daxamites and no Daxam and Lena and Rhea were conveniently building a portal into space. She didn’t need her P.h.D’s to figure out what Rhea was planning. The only thing she had to do now was to figure out what to do about it. Shut down the project completely? Destroy the work even though she had big plans for it? Kick Rhea out? Her phone vibrated.

It was Thursday night so she supposed she could go for drinks with the detective. It’s not like they have much of an effect on her anyways. She grabbed the pile of files from her desk and put them in her bag so she could look through it tomorrow. Reaching under the table, she grabbed her golden spider and pocketed it. The Mark 1, after she repaired it, stayed in her office. The Mark 2 she took with her everywhere so she could slap it on whenever she needed her alter ego. She walked down the stairs and waited in the lobby for Maggie. She offered to drive herself but the detective was already on her way. Lena spotted her from two blocks down and walked outside to meet her.

“You failed to mention that you were on your bike,” Lena greeted. She took the offered helmet and sat behind Maggie. She had enough experience of swinging through the city to not need to hold on.

“Why, you scared?” Maggie made a show of revving the engine.

“I jump off of rooftops as a way of transportation, this is child’s play,” she remarked. Maggie was weaving in and out of traffic easily. They made it to a sketchy alleyway and honestly, Lena wasn’t surprised. This seemed like the type of place Maggie would hang out in.

“The first round is on me,” the shorter woman promised as they walked in. Lena look around and it seemed like a regular dive bar, complete with a pool table and jukebox. She sat down next to her friend and ordered a scotch.

“You do realize I can’t get drunk, right?” Lena took a sip of her drink.

“Really?” Maggie’s eyes held mischief in them. “So you can take shots after shots and not be affected?”

“Well, I haven’t tested it like that before. I’ve noticed that my usual amount to at least get tipsy doesn’t do anything - Maggie what are you doing?” She watched the older woman tap someone on the shoulder.

“Lyra! I’m placing $50 down for this bet,” she declared. The person turned around and Lena noticed her face. She looked to her right and saw someone with scales all along their body. She continued to look around and noticed she was in an alien bar.

“Who’s the sucker who’s going down!” Lyra jeered. The other patrons turned to look at the two and started clapping. Why did she feel like this wasn’t the first time Maggie had done this? Whatever this was, that is.

“None other than my best friend, Lena Luthor!” She pointed at said person and Lena wanted to die right then and there. Everyone went silent as they stared at the infamous Luthor. Oh, she was going to kill Maggie- the bar exploded in cheers. The alien to her right gently pushed her off her barstool and everyone parted for her.

“I hate you,” Lena mumbled to Maggie who was smiling with dimples and everything.

“The rules are simple. Whoever taps out first or blacks out first, loses. So far I’m undefeated. Maggie came close once but I came out victorious.” Lyra’s eyes shone with pride. “Pick your poison.”

Lena hated tequila with a passion (that was totally Roulette’s fault) so she chose vodka instead. 3 minutes later, 5 tables were pushed together and there were two lines of shots going down them. On her side was the vodka and on the other side was alcohol she didn’t recognize. It looked neon green and smelled like gasoline. Must’ve been alien alcohol.

“Everyone place your bets here!” Maggie had pushed the chalkboard that was in the back of the bar towards them and people started making bets. The title was Luthor vs. Lyra. Why was she friends with her again? “We’ve got a total of $250 for Lyra and $125 for Luthor!” She announced. How did she end up here, again?

“Ready?” Lyra held a shot glass and offered it for a toast.

“I guess so.” Lena felt adrenaline pump through her body even though she was in no danger. It was purely from the cheering and competitiveness in her. She glanced at the 30 shots that lined the table. She looked back at Lyra and tapped their glasses together. In sync, they tapped the table with the bottom of their shot glasses and threw the drink back. Lena tried to ignore the bitter taste of the drink as she moved onto the next one. Then the next one. They were pretty even in speed but Lyra was slightly ahead. 10 more. Her body was buzzing and her hair felt weird.

“No one’s made it this far in a long time,” she admired once they were down to the last five. Lena wanted to retort with something smart but continued to drink instead. They finished at the same time. “It’s time for round two.” She was already feeling a bit buzzy. She wasn’t excited for round two.

“You’ve got this, Lena! She may look cool and collected, but trust me. You’ve almost got her,” Maggie tried to assure. Lena hummed.

“This time, they’ll be handing us shots until we can’t take anymore.” They sat on opposite sides of each other at a table. There were two people on their rights. One would pour the shot and the other would hand it to them.

“Ready when you are.”

Another 20 shots later, Lena won. The whole bar rioted in disbelief. Lena was raised on someone’s shoulders and she was being paraded around the bar. They chanted “Luthor, Luthor” as they did so. Lena felt light. And airy. She didn’t feel like throwing up thankfully, but her stomach did feel funny.

“I am so proud of you, Little Luthor.” Maggie wiped away fake tears and plopped down in the booth with Lena. “You good? You look a little out of it.”

“I think.” Lena closed her eyes and smiled. “Drunk. I am, I mean.” She pointed to herself and laughed.

“See? You can get drunk!” Maggie was absolutely glowing.

“I’m hungry. Do you think they have flys? Because, I’m part spider, you know,” Lena staged whispered. “But you can’t tell anyone. Shh.” The CEO kept a straight face. Or at least she tried to - she ended up laughing at herself.

“Right, okay.” Maggie was clearly  _ very _ amused with a drunk Lena. “I’ll grab us some hamburgers. You just stay there.” Lena nodded mutely. Her head felt heavy. Did she have a big head? Mother always said she did. What if Kara didn’t like her because she had a big head? She took out her phone to text her.

“What are you- Woah, give me that!” Maggie took the phone away from Lena who was about to unknowingly expose herself to Supergirl. She decided to end the conversation.

“She said that I’m pretty,” Lena swooned. She noticed the food and her eyes lit up. “I bought her flowers.” She nodded vigorously and started to go to town with the fries.

“Have you ever been this drunk before?” Maggie looked at the prestigious Luthor in awe. She was really trying to eat two hamburgers at the same time.

“Back at boarding school, Ronnie and I would get drunk sometimes. With Andrea, too.” She started combining the two burgers into one massive one. “Roulette and I caused so much trouble together. When Andrea joined, we were almost kicked out.” Lena took a bite from her creation and hummed happily as the grease rolled down her fingers.

“Roulette. Like alien fight club, Roulette?”

“Oh yeah. I never went to those but Veronica and I would get together afterward. We’d do our own fight club.” She smiled to herself as she continued to devour the burger. She wondered what Vonnie was up to right now. Maybe something illegal. What about Andrea? It has been a while since they’ve spoken to one another. Perhaps she should-

“Damn Luthor. And here I thought you were a virgin,” Maggie laughed as Lena ignored her to eat.

“Harry and I would go out to drink sometimes too, but we never got this drunk. The paparazzi would always show up sooner or later, so we’d stay sober enough to make an escape.” Lena drank her milkshake happily. “I don’t think I could even shoot a web right now.”

“Please don’t try,” Maggie agreed. “Eat up and I’ll let you crash on the couch, okay?” How was she going to explain this to Alex?

“M’kay.” Lena had never felt so soft before. Her body felt like her spider-sense, it was buzzing. What if she was buzzing? Bees buzz, not spiders. She continued to eat.

“I need you to use your sticky powers to hold onto me, okay? I’ll go slow so you don’t fall off.” Maggie mounted her bike and Lena followed after her. She put her hands on the driver’s shoulders on allowed herself to stick.

“I’m ready,” she murmured. Lena’s head slumped on her back and her hands fell to her side. Maggie sighed and wrapped Lena’s arms around her. At least if she fell, the brunette knew that her passenger wouldn’t die. She headed towards the apartment.

“No spider talk, okay?” Maggie was leading them through the lobby, into the elevator.

“No spider talk,” Lena repeated.

“Actually, no talking at all,” she decided. It was best for Maggie to deal with Alex. She opened the door and they both stumbled towards the couch. “Stay here. No talking. I’m going to get you something to change into, okay?” Lena nodded. Her friend suppressed a smile and walked into the bedroom to grab a pair of Kara’s sweatpants that said person had left behind and a t-shirt.

“Hey, Lena.” Alex paused in the doorway. “Lena?” She mutely waved. “What are you doing here?” Don’t speak. She’s kind of intimidating. Lena’s intimidating too. Is Spider-Woman intimidating?

“Babe!” Maggie called out to shift the attention. She threw the clothes at her friend and motioned to the bathroom. Thankfully, she got the hint.

“Why is Lena Luthor in our apartment?” Maggie couldn’t quite place the tone but she noticed how tense Alex was.

“She’s drunk. And I couldn’t just let her go home like that.” The detective may have also forgotten to mention to her girlfriend that she was friends with the Luthor. To be fair, she wasn’t sure how to explain their sudden friendship. It only became so because of the fact that she was Spider-Woman. “And we’re kind of friends?”

“Since when?” Alex crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows. Uh oh, she was in trouble.

“You remember Mysterio?” Alex nodded. “Well, as you know, his suit was a modified version of Lex Luthor’s. Beck wasn’t talking about how he got it or anything, so I thought Lena would be of help.” Maggie lowed her voice, “And you know how much Kara stands up for her and likes her. Thought I would at least give her a shot. She’s a good kid, Alex. Give her a chance. Kara would love you for it,” she baited. Alex uncrossed her arms and pursed her lips.

“I’m willing to give her a chance.” Maggie tried not to look  _ too _ happy. “Next time, text me if we’re going to have a guest over, okay?”

“Of course babe.” Maggie enthusiastically kissed her girlfriend. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Alex’s face softened as she melted into Maggie’s gaze. Lena stumbled back into the room.

“Goodnight, kid. Jess is going to come sometime in the morning to pick you up, okay?” God, Maggie felt like such a mom. If this was literally any other person, she would have simply dropped them off at home and left them to deal with the next day themselves. But she couldn’t do that to Lena. Whether it was because she was Spider-Woman, Maggie was responsible for getting her wasted, or simply that the woman’s life was so sad and she needed this, Maggie didn’t know. But she wasn’t going to try and figure it out.

“Any reason why she’s not talking?” Alex asked as she crawled into bed.

“She’s super, shit-faced wasted.” Once under the covers, Maggie gathered Alex in her arms and kissed the top of her forehead. She was not soft, Alex was.

For once in her life, Maggie was glad she woke up first. She went into the living room area to check up on Lena but found she wasn’t on the couch. She must’ve gone to the bathroom then. On the coffee table, she noticed multiple papers. Upon picking one up, she noticed the writing wasn’t even in English. She couldn’t place the language but she saw different equations. Nerd. She put the papers back and something bothered her. She scanned the room and noticed nothing out of place. Until she looked up.

Directly above the couch, Lena Luthor was sleeping with a web blanket to keep her attached to the ceiling. Maggie freaked out and went to grab the broom. Alex could wake up any minute from now and she was not going to have this conversation yet. She started to lightly wack the arachnid with the broom. Nothing. She continued to hit a little harder and the webbing started to break away. Before she knew it, Lena fell from the ceiling onto her.

“Oww,” Lena muttered.

“Who’s there!” Alex walked into the room with a gun in her hand pointed at the two idiots.

“Alex!” Maggie scrambled to get up and was so, very grateful the room was still dark. “I scared her awake, come on, let’s go change.” Maggie turned Alex around and Lena, still half-asleep, hopped onto the ceiling and started to take the webbing off.

“Is Lena ok?” The agent turned around and was confused to see the spot empty. “Where’d she go?” Lena flattened herself against the ceiling and held her breath. Her head was pounding and everything was still a bit fuzzy, but she knew to be quiet right now.

“Bathroom! She’s in the bathroom.” Maggie was practically pushing Alex towards the bedroom. “Is that you’re alien gun?” Lena gathered the webs in her arms and dropped onto the ground carefully. She opened the window and threw them out. She leaned against the wall and decided that she never wanted to compete against Lyra ever again.

“Hey, so, what the fuck?” Maggie seemed highly amused but a little worried about their close call.

“I felt cold,” Lena shrugged as if that explained everything. “I remember drinking, then eating, then coming here, and oh.” She picked up the papers and frowned at it. “I made an upgrade for Hope and my suit. These numbers look right but…” she trailed off.

“I felt cold,” the shorter woman mocked. “You know, if you’re going to date, the said person is going to need to know about your side job so you don’t scare them off. And what language is this in?”

Lena decided to ignore the first part. “It’s in Gaelic.” Lena reread the notes. If she could implement this in her AI, then being Spider-Woman would be exponentially easier.

“Anyways,” the detective decided to change the topic, “Jess will be here in like ten minutes to take you home so you can clean yourself up and get ready for the meeting. And here’s your phone. I would wait until you’re in the car to look at the messages, though.” Lena wasn’t sure she wanted to look at the messages.

“Thank you for letting me crash here. I’ve never really crashed at someone’s place before, but this entire thing was an experience.”

“This is so sad. How are you 24 and you know what, never mind, I know why. I’m glad to be of service.” Lena gathered her stuff and realized she probably made a poor first impression with Alex.

“Alex probably hates me right now.” Lena struggled to put on her heels.

“She’s willing to give you a chance. Maybe we can have a girls’ night. You, Kara, Alex, and I,” Maggie suggested as she opened the door.

“As long as I don’t drink like that again. My spider-sense still feels funny.” Which was true. Lena felt like her whole body was vibrating.

“No promises. Knock ‘em dead, kid!” Maggie smiled as Lena walked away. Maybe she was wrong about not wanting to have kids. Maybe one day she’d like to have one. Maybe. 

“We have one hour to get you ready,” Jess commented when Lena opened the passenger side door.

“That should be enough time.” Her hangover was already starting to fade. Thank God for her mutated DNA. Deciding that it was now or never, Lena unlocked her phone and looked at her messages. Oh, fuck. She had messaged Kara. “Make a note to make sure I don’t have my phone when I’m drunk.”

“Did you message her?” Jess smirked.

“I don’t want to open it.” She has been face-to-face with some of National City’s finest criminals. She could do this. “Fuck,” she groaned. “I called her pretty and I told her I know who Spider-Woman is under the mask.”

“It gets better.” Jess’s grin made Lena think that it, in fact, did  _ not _ get better. “Read the group chat.”

“What was it with flys?” She asked herself. “I did not.”

“You did.” Jess didn’t even need to ask. She knew exactly what part of the conversation her boss was at.

“I can never speak to her again.” Lena was already thinking about how long it would take her to get to Metropolis. “The Luthor mansion is empty now, no one would think to find me there,” she mused aloud.

“Wouldn’t it be suspicious if, at the same time Lena Luthor disappeared, Spider-Woman disappeared?”

Lena thought back to her notes and simply hummed in acknowledgment. She was going to figure out how to allow Hope access to her suit and temporarily be able to control it. That would help if she and Spider-Woman needed to be seen at the same time.

-

“Hey, Kara.” It was exactly 12:15 and Lena couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face.

“Hey, Lee.” They hugged each other tightly and went to sit on the couch.

“I’m sorry about last night. I was kind of out of it,” Lena sheepishly apologized. She wonders if her friend saw the flowers yet.

“I thought it was endearing.” She started to place the food on the table. “Especially the flowers with the note that said ‘Thanks for not thinking I have a big head’,” Kara teased playfully. Lena groaned and hid her face in her hands. Could her raging crush on her best friend be any more obvious? To try and cover her blushing face, Lena reached for one of the coffees and took a sip. Immediately her spider-senses flared and she unceremoniously spat the drink out.

“What the fuck is in there?” Lena placed the drink on the table and went over to the side of the office to grab paper towels.

“Uh, my usual.  Pumpkin spice latte with extra foam sprinkled with cinnamon.” She sniffed her drink and found nothing wrong with it.

“Oh.” Lena cleaned up the mess and reached for a sticky bun. She hadn’t had one in so long. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up in warning but she bit into the baked goodness anyway. She almost threw up. “Excuse me.” With as much grace as she could, Lena walked out of her office and spit the piece of food out of her mouth into a trashcan behind Jess’ desk.

“Ms. Luthor?” Lena felt like crying.

“I am going to murder Lex one of these days.” Was all Lena said before walking back into the office. Her face remained calm but her heart was hammering against her chest. “I’m so sorry about that, Kara. I just found out that I’m allergic to cinnamon.” That was the only thing the two objects had in common, but she would have to run more tests to find out if that were true. It was probably another spider thing. 

“Oh.” Kara looked at her unsurely but chalked the weird behavior up to the drinking from last night. “Good thing I got other things, right?” There were buffalo wings, buffalo fries, and two hamburgers. Normally Lena wasn’t one to eat finger foods around people (especially this messy) but she felt comfortable around Kara.

They ate in comfortable silence. Just before this, Lena had gone down to the basement lab and told Rhea that they wouldn’t be conducting business with each other anymore. Rhea surprisingly took it with ease and walked straight out. Not taking any chances, Lena ordered the men to destroy everything. Though, she had a feeling she didn’t stop Rhea completely. She probably only put a hold on her plans.

“So, you know who Spider-Woman is.”

“Yeah.” Lena didn’t feel the need to lie. It was already confirmed in text even if she wanted to deny it.

“That’s cool.” The businesswoman nodded as she started to clean up. “Supergirl has never seen her at your office before when she’s visited,” the reporter said offhandedly. Lena chose to ignore how she knew that with such certainty.

“When she visits, she comes to my house.” That seemed like a good excuse. Lena pointedly ignored Kara’s crushed cup in her hand.

“I didn’t know you took house visits.” Thinking about it, Lena had never invited Kara to her house.

“She only comes by occasionally, it’s not a habit or anything.” Should she invite Kara to her house? Would that be too weird? Lena’s been to Kara’s a couple of times before, so it’d only be fair right? “You should come over one day,” Lena blurted out before she lost her courage. Her friend seemed to perk up at that.

“Really?” She tried to tone down her excitement but Lena was smiling. Good move, Luthor.

“Yeah. We can watch musicals if you want to.” That seemed to do the trick as Kara’s mood rocketed. Her smile was almost blinding.

“Text me the details and I’ll be there.” They exchanged goodbyes and hugged each other tightly.

Lena pulled out her research notes and started ordering materials for her project with Dr. Octavius. They were going to start building the arms soon so she needed extra electric motors, frictionless gimbals, titanium niobium steel, stainless steel, and helical gears. If these arms really worked, it could revolutionize construction work. It was such a small goal, but she was sure she could revolutionize it for other purposes as well.

-

Maggie had called her to deal with a car thief quickly. Some dumbass stole the captain’s car and he wanted it returned with no damage done to it (hence why Spider-Woman was called). Hope quickly found the plates on the street cams and soon enough, Lena was swinging after a man who was speeding on the street. Seriously, if he was going to try and pull this off, he could have at least tried to drive normally.

The driver saw the Spider in the review mirror and started shooting his pistol. Lena sighed and swung faster so he wouldn’t cause any accidents. Right ahead of them, 5 blocks and closing, was Kara unsuspectedly crossing the street. Lena cursed and sped up. In the nick of time, Spider-Woman was able to drop in front of the car and lift it over her head so it didn’t harm her friend. Or the other people crossing the street. She placed the car down on the side and webbed the dude to a wall. She had Hope call Maggie and Lena walked over to Kara who stood there, a shocked expression on her face.

“You okay, Ms. Danvers?” They were on the sidewalk now and people walked passed them.

“Y-Yeah.” She snapped out of her daze. “You saved me. You didn’t need to do that.” The reporter seemed to scrutinize the vigilante and Lena resisted the urge to fiddle under her gaze.

“Of course I did. You would’ve become roadkill if I didn’t jump in when I did.” Lena contemplated saying something else. Well, Kara knew Lena and Spidey talked so it didn’t really matter. “Plus, Lena would’ve been upset with me if I didn’t save her favorite person.” She winked and swung away quickly. Because she had to get back to the office. Not because Kara was blushing. Absolutely not.

-

“Isn’t it past your bedtime?” Lena, as Spider-Woman, was sitting on top of L-Corp listening to some music until she saw Supergirl approaching her.

“I don’t have a bedtime,” Supergirl muttered as she sat next to the vigilante.

“She left about an hour ago.” Which was technically true. Lena did leave her office at 9. The city was quiet tonight though so she came to the roof to clear her head.

“How do you know her?” Supergirl turned to face Spider-Woman.

“Who do you think makes my gear?” She shrugged.

“Lena Luthor makes your gear?” She squinted her eyes. “How’d you even convince her to work with you? Did her brother send you? If you so much as lay a finger on her head-”

“Woah, calm down, Super.” Spidey raised her arms. Lena was definitely  _ not _ blushing at the thought of goody-two-shoes Supergirl threatening someone in her defense. “I have no intention of hurting Lena-” Supergirl’s eye twitched- “in fact, shouldn’t  _ I _ be the one telling you to stay away from her?” Silence. “Why don’t you like me? I haven’t even done anything wrong.”

“I’m sorry.” Supergirl placed her arms behind her and leaned back to look at the stars. “I’m used to being around to deal with the alien problems and with some human problems, here and there. Then this unknown shows up. I try to talk to her and she webs me up and flees. See how I could be a little suspicious?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” She never really thought about it like that before.

“Humans are so fragile. I have to be careful when I’m fighting with one so I don’t accidentally break every single bone in their body. I can tell you’re enhanced, but you make fighting look so easy. You fight with grace. All flips and whatever,” Supergirl admitted softly. “Only one thing can do me harm, and that’s Kryptonite. I don’t know what it’s like to put my life on the line every day to help people. So maybe I was also a bit scared for you. The people look up to us both and I don’t know what I’d do if you died from something I could’ve taken care of.”

“I think I get it.” For all intents and purposes, Supergirl was a god and Spider-Woman was a demigod. She could do more, but she wasn’t invincible. “That’s why I train and push myself constantly. Lena and I are working on a new upgrade on my suit. We’ll keep improving the designs and making gadgets. I’ve got people I care about, so I’m not going to die on the job.” It felt weird talking about herself in third person but she supposed she had to get used to it.

“I was wrong about you, Spider-Woman. Partners?” She held out a hand.

“Partners.” The vigilante shook the hero’s hand. “I’ll stop webbing you on purpose if you stop flying into me on purpose.” Supergirl laughed freely and once again Lena had to force herself to not compare it to another blonde she knew.

“I think I can live with that.” They had about a minute of peacefulness between them until the air started vibrating.

“Do you feel that?” Spidey stood up and scanned the city, but nothing seemed out of place.

“Yeah.” Supergirl was standing now, too. Soon, the sky was filled with spaceships. Lena had a feeling she knew who they were. “Follow me!” Supergirl stood up and made to take off. Quickly, Lena shot a web at her feet and was hanging on tight while Supergirl flew through the city. It was moments like these that she missed the web wings on her original suit.

“Supergirl?” Alex fucking Danvers asked as they landed.

“Alex, what are the ships doing here? How are they here?” Supergirl stormed through this place and Lena awkwardly followed.

“It’s my mother.” Mike, Kara’s boyfriend, responded.

“Winn?”

“Working on it! She sent a transmission just before you came. She wants Mon-El and Lena Luthor for some reason.” Winn was typing away on a computer and Lena looked around the room. D.E.O. She so knew Alex wasn’t an FBI agent. It wasn’t logical for Supergirl to work with the FBI, but a secret alien agency? Perfect sense.

“I think I know where she is.” Everyone had seemingly forgotten that she was there.

“Spider-Woman!” Winn hopped off the chair and walked over to her, shaking her hand vigorously. “Huge fan, by the way. If we have some time after this, I have some questions about-”

“Winn!” He shrunk back from the oldest Danvers sister. “And you, Supergirl-” she pointed at the Kryptonian- “brought her here without asking.”

“She did say she could find Rhea. Right?” Taking pity on her friend, Lena nodded.

“She and Lena were working on a project together. She decided to end the collaboration, but it seems Rhea had a backup plan.”

“We’ll send a team, then. I’m going,” Mon-El announced.

“I’m all for that. I know where Lena, but I’m not letting her get caught up in your plans.” Plus, Lena hadn’t had time to make her suit function without her in it. Although, she could ask someone to be in the suit when she wasn’t in it. No one would know…

“I agree. Let’s keep Lena as far away from this as possible.”

“I’ll go as the Luthor.” The director walked towards the small group. “I’m suspecting that they haven’t attacked yet because she needs the two of them for some reason.” He stopped next to her and stared deep into her eyes. Lena felt light-headed for a second and blocked out the force trying to gain entry into her head. So he was an alien too, okay.

“J’onn!” Supergirl sounded displeased. “I trust her.” The two stared each other down and J’onn finally relented.

“You’re going to have to sign NDAs after this is over.” He seemed displeased.

“Of course, sir.”

“We’re leaving in 10 minutes, get ready.”

“Hope, call Jess.”

“Is this about the aliens in the sky?”

“Yeah.” Lena bit her lip. “I need you to go to my lab and start mixing lead with my web fluid. About four cartridges should be enough. I’ll meet you there as soon as possible. And I’m going to ask for the biggest favor ever.” And a raise, she added.

“I’ll head over right now. What’s the favor?”

“I need you to wear the suit.” Lena hated to ask but she knew the DEO or Supergirl would come looking for her soon enough. It would be too suspicious if they kept popcorning. “I overheard Winn talking about how lead is pretty much poisonous to them. Plus, the suit is bulletproof and I dove off a cliff with this thing, it’ll protect you. The web-shooters are easy enough to figure out and add that with the added lead, you should be fine. Hope will walk you through everything. If you say no, I understand.”

“Of course I will, Lena. We wouldn’t want people connecting the dots, right?”

“Right.” Lena was so thankful for her friendship with Jess she could cry. “Thank you so much, Jess. I can’t even express how thankful I am right now.”

“I know. I also have to say that I am peaking in life right now. Thank you for allowing me on this journey with you, Ms. Luthor.”

“I’ll see you on the flip side.” Lena smiled. “End call.” She turned around and was surprised to see both Winn and Supergirl staring at her. “Um, can I help you?”

“What were you doing just now?”

“Uh, talking on the phone?”

Winn was jumping up and down. “We couldn’t hear anything though, that’s so cool.”

“You looked dumb. Waving around your hands without making a sound.” Spidey rolled her eyes at Supergirl. “Anyways, we’re ready. Let’s go.”

“Let’s go,” Lena affirmed. Hopefully, Lena would be able to clutch her plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell that I've been procrastinating on the Daxamite invasion part? What, you have? Noooo.  
>   
> [Look at what I did.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deeqnubwl2k&t=3s)  
> 


	8. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y'all already know :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had such writer's block with this, so sorry. I didn't proof read either, sorry about that as well ;p  
> Also, I've been leeching off my neighbor's wifi to write this lmao

-

After J’onn and Mon-El were taken, Lena headed home to meet with Jess. Supergirl assured the Spider that J’onn could take care of himself. That, at least, quelled most of Lena’s guilt for allowing someone else to take her place.

“How is it going?” Lena landed through the open window.

“I’m halfway through with the webbing that you asked me to make,” Jess reported. Lena nodded and glanced at the time. 2:05 am.

“How about we resume this after some sleep? Supergirl was able to buy us some time.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Jess chuckled. “It’ll help with my nerves.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Jess. Now, get some rest.” Lena showed her the guest room and then went into her own room.

Lena woke after 3 hours of sleep and went into her lab. She pulled out some old schematics for web bombs and started to write out the logistics for it. As she was putting the finishing touches on the blueprint, Jess walked in with two plates full of scrambled eggs.

“I already ate, this is all for you,” she prompted as she sat across from her boss. “What’s this?” She gestured at the papers.

“Web grenades.” Lena smiled at her friend and gratefully started to dig into the food. “You’ll have to build it and add the fluid, but if my calculations are right, which they usually are, there’s a 95% chance of it working.”

Jess smiled. “And you did all this in, an hour?” The vigilante nodded. “Even I’m impressed.”

“Thank you, Jess.” Lena blushed at the compliment. “I’m going to leave the Mark II here and go back for my original suit so I can meet with Supergirl and figure out what our plan is while you’re here getting ready.” She walked over to the golden spider and pressed it to her chest. Once her suit was completely on, she held down on the spider once again, “Manual override; exoskeleton.” The suit opened up and she stepped out. “Once you are ready, step inside and Hope will guide you.”

“God knows I need her help.” Jess chuckled. 

“We’ll stay connected the whole time.” The CEO opened a drawer and pulled out a spare earpiece. “I’ll keep you updated on the situation.” After going through the details, Lena drove herself to L-Corp.

“Ms. Luthor!” Someone she recognized from the IT department approached her. “I heard about the bar. You’re a true hero, Ms. Luthor.” He patted her shoulder and walked away before she could respond. Briefly, Lena wondered what her mother would think. A Luthor being called a hero amongst aliens because she outdrank one.

Just as Lena put the suit on, Hope chirped, “The Daxamites are attacking.”

“Shit.” Lena adjusted her web-shooters. She didn’t have any lead in these but hopefully, the lead in her suit would be enough when she went against them in hand-to-hand combat. She flew down and engaged a Daxamite right away. “Hope, get me in contact with Agent Danvers.”

“Hello? Who is this and how did you get this number?”

“It’s Spider-Woman. Are you aware of what’s going on right now?” Lena flipped back to avoid a punch. She rushed him, slid under his legs, then knocked him over from behind.

“Yeah. I’ll send the location to where we’re setting up our headquarters.” The call ended and Lena punched the alien straight in the face without withholding her strength. He fell to the ground. Cool, she didn’t have to hold back at all.

It took her about half an hour, but Lena made it outside of the bar she was at the other day.

“Look who found us,” Agent Danvers drawled.

“Spidey! I’m so glad you came.” Supergirl smiled. It seemed almost, fond?

“Yeah, it’s a warzone out there. The Daxamite troops are beaming down from everywhere, setting up checkpoints, arresting resisters. It’s almost like they’re instituting their own martial law,” Spider-Woman reported.

“Yeah, well, not to mention the full-on  _ Independence Day _ going out there with the mothership hovering over the city,” Winn added.

“Mon-El is on that ship, Rhea took him. She’s looking for Lena, too.” Supergirl glanced around. “We’re all together. We can fight back.”

“But where do we start?” Lena did her best to fight what she could on her way here, but the number of troops they had was almost overwhelming. Her bare fists could only do so much, especially since her webbing would only hold them for so long.

“Well, without the DEO mainframe, we’re flying blind.” Winn pouted.  _ What happened to the DEO _ , Lena wondered.

“Not to mention the Daxamite military patrolling the streets,” Maggie strolled into the bar and Alex practically flew into her arms.

“And J’onn’s not here to lead us,” Alex glanced up from her girlfriend’s embrace, almost as if she would be able to see him.

“Maybe I could be of service,” a new voice added. Everyone turned around and pointed their guns at none other than Lillian Luthor. “What? Not happy to see me?” Lena’s jaw set and she crossed her arms. “You people are so predictable.”

“Hands above your head,” Alex threatened. 

“No,” her mother crossed her arms definitely.

“You made a mistake coming here,” Supergirl warned. Lena was a little taken aback at the hostility in the Super’s voice, but not that surprised considering it was Lillian.

“I find it as distasteful as you do, Supergirl, but I need your help. And you need mine.” Spider-Woman’s eyes narrowed. What was her play?

“All right. What do you want?” Supergirl puffed her chest out slightly.

“To take down our common enemy. Everything I warned against has come to pass. The alien invaders have come to destroy our way of life and claim our planet, just as I said they would.” Lillian sat down on a stool as if she hadn’t just waltzed into enemy territory. God, her mom was so infuriating sometimes.

“You could just say, “I told you so”,” Winn muttered.

“I did tell you so. And now you can shoot me. Or we can work together. And we can save our loved ones and this city.” Lena’s fingers twitched against her web-shooters and Maggie caught the movement. She gave her friend a sympathetic look.

“You mean your daughter that you kidnapped and framed?” Supergirl defended. Lena looked at her curiously. The Kryptonian always came to her defense - it was kind of endearing that she cared so much.

“We will never work with you,” Alex spat.

“Don’t let your pride get in the way of your objective. That ship is armed with Kryptonite cannons. You have no transmat portal, and the Daxamites have upgraded their shields.” And Lillian called  _ her _ a know-it-all. “I understand why you all don’t trust me. But whatever happened in our past, I’m asking you to leave it there.”

“Get out,” Supergirl practically growled.

“Call me if you change your mind,” Lillian said airly and walked right out.

“I think Spidey and I should get back out there, see what we can do,” Maggie offered after seeing Lena’s tense posture.

“I agree.” Lena walked straight out of the bar without waiting for Maggie. God, her mother always managed to get on her nerves.

“So you’re Spider-Woman.” Lillian had been waiting outside for her, apparently.

“And you’re Lillian Luthor.” Lena stayed rim-rod straight while her mother looked her up and down.

“Who are you?” Her voice was all ice and steel. “And how did you get ahold of Lex’s spider?” Of fucking course, she knew about it. Lena was so busy looking through her brother’s archives for anything on the spider, she didn’t think about seeing if her mother had any information on it.

“Lex as in Lex Luthor?” Play dumb. Perhaps her mother would leave her alone if she found that Spider-Woman wasn’t worth her time.

“Don’t be coy. Only five people in total knew about it and two of them are dead. I’ve checked the footage myself and the Metropolis vault has remained unopened since his arrest.” Lillian stepped into Lena’s personal space and looked down at her, eyes as sharp as ever. “So I will ask again. Who are you?” The spider wasn’t in the Metropolis vault, though. She was bitten here in California. There was also another person alive who knew about the spider? Who were they? Why couldn’t Lena find anything about it when she looked through Lex’s things?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Lena was grateful for Hope hiding her shaking voice. She found out more information about that cursed spider but at the same time, she had learned nothing. “All I know is I’m on vacation in Metropolis and when I came back, I noticed I changed,” she lied. “It could have been your son’s spider or it could’ve been something completely different. It’s none of your business either way.” God, she felt so good talking to her like that. Before anything could escalate, Maggie walked out.

“Hey! I thought we made it clear that you should leave,  _ Luthor _ .” Lena had to bite her tongue so she didn’t flinch at the way the detective said her last name.

“I was simply introducing myself to National City’s newest hero.” Lillian’s face was full of disdain and disgust. Lena was used to that look but it hurt nonetheless.

“Yes, well, we’ve met. Goodbye, Lillian.” The oldest Luthor stepped back, looked between the two women, and walked away without saying a word. Lena didn’t dare open her mouth until she was two blocks away. “I can’t stand Mother sometimes.” She couldn’t afford to break down now, though.

“Will beating up aliens help?” Maggie wordlessly rubbed her back. Lena found physical contact to be uncomfortable but she leaned into the touch.

“It would be, but I have to update Jess on the situation. We’re going to have to switch. I know my mother will be at my office sooner or later.” Lena sighed heavily. “Hope, patch me through to Jess.”

-

Lena sat on her couch in her office drinking scotch. It didn’t have an effect on her, but the bitter taste was exactly what she needed. She heard faint steps approaching her office and she hit the chessboard in front of her in frustration. She wished she could hold off on this inevitable meeting.

“That chessboard’s been in the Luthor family for generations,” her mother idly commented as she sat down on the same couch she sat on.

“Did you come here to yell at me for not treating the family heirlooms with respect, or for what’s happening outside?” Lena stood up to refill her glass. She wished she could at least be buzzed.

“I taught you to be a scientist. To question everything,” Lillian sounded exasperated as if she couldn’t believe Lena was  _ that _ stupid. To be fair, the CEO stopped the project as soon as she figured out what Rhea’s plan was. But of course, that didn’t matter.

“No, what you taught me was to doubt myself. To look for validation elsewhere. So much so that I took it from the first mentor that offered it to me.” Was Lena bitter? Yes. Why was it so hard for people to just appreciate what Lena’s doing for the world? To tell her good job at least once? She turned LutherCorp around for good and no one seemed to be impressed by that. Instead, they look down on her further.

“I’m sorry. I am, Lena.” She hated that she could hear her mother’s strong heartbeat that didn’t even quiver at the statement. “When you came to visit me in jail, I honestly wanted to be a better mother to you. Every time I’ve had the opportunity to choose you over something else… I’ve chosen something else.”

“Congratulations on saying the first honest thing in your life.”

“I have justified the worst behavior for the best of the causes. But I was right. The threat was real.” Would she ever stop bringing that up? “But maybe I backed the wrong child to stop it. The transmat portal you created… That was brilliant Lena. If you could do that with the portal, maybe you could do something with this.” She pulled out a cube from her bag.

“Is that from Lex’s vault?” She recognized it from the one that blew up.

“He created it to get rid of Superman.”

“Does it work?”

“Well, you would need to adapt it. But if you could, you could be the Luthor that saved the world.” Lena hated, absolutely fucking  _ hated _ , that her mother knew exactly what to say to her to make her comply. Yet, she knew this device could save the people from the Daxamites.

“I’ll get in touch with Supergirl.” Lena whipped out her phone and shot a quick text to Kara. Once the message was opened, Lena walked over to the balcony.

“If I recall correctly, this building didn’t have a balcony when you bought it.” Lillian raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“I liked the view. I figured I could use it to look over the city when I need motivation,” Lena lied hoping her face wasn’t blushing.

“You’re scared of heights,” the oldest Luthor pointed out. “I think you honestly got it for your pet Super. Perhaps that spider as well?”

Lena turned on her mother quickly. “I don’t know what you’re getting at but-” The two Supers landed in front of them.

“Of course the two of you would make an entrance.” Lillian’s eyes were still teasing and full of mischief.

“Unfortunately, this is her on her best behavior,” Lena glared at her mother and walked into her office, putting on her neutral mask.

“So what did you want?” Supergirl seemed on edge. Lena saw the news about the showdown that was bound to happen soon.

“My daughter has a way to save us.” Oh, so Lena was her daughter now? She was tired of Lillian’s hot and cold act.

“It’s a device that my brother invented to keep humans safe while radiating the atmosphere with Kryptonite. It would have made the planet uninhabitable for both of you.” It was a genius device, though. If Lex hadn’t been so hellbent on defeating Superman, he could’ve changed the world for the better.

“Well, lucky my cousin put him in jail before he could make it work.” Lena’s glare snapped to Supergirl’s and the hero seemed surprised at the hostility. Lex was still her brother. Her friendship with the Kryptonian was not close enough yet for her to even talk about him.

“And lucky for you, I found it.” Yeah, Lillian “found” it. What else did she have hidden away?

“I’ve been studying it. And I think I can convert it to irradiate the atmosphere with lead, rather than Kryptonite.” Lena’s voice was clipped. She was just annoyed with the situation in general. Helping Rhea with this unknowingly. The Daxamites. Jess in her suit. Her mother. Supergirl and Kara- “Just a trace amount, harmless to humans,” she continued. “But the atmosphere would become toxic to Daxamites. The aliens would be forced to leave. Or stay and die.” Lena stared directly at Supergirl as she delivered that last bit.

“All of them?” Superman asked.

“Mmm-hmm,” Lillian confirmed.

“And they could never return. Even Rhea’s son.” Lena did feel bad, but she didn’t have time to try and find a way to keep Mon-El safe. And a small part of her didn’t want her to anyway.

“Mon-El would have to leave Earth,” Supergirl realized.

“Did you know he was dating Kara Danvers?” Lena had to ask. She didn’t miss the way Lillian and Supergirl exchanged looks. Of _fucking_ _COURSE_. Lena was so over this day. Perhaps she could go to the bar and get wasted. Or she could work on her own formula for alcohol so it would actually affect her.

“Start working.” With that, Supergirl and her cousin flew off. Lena took a deep breath, counted to ten, and faced her mother.

“You knew,” she accused.

“Knew what.” Lillian’s smug face let Lena know that she knew exactly what her daughter was talking about.

“Unbelievable. You’ve known for how long now?” Lena wasn’t sure why her anger was rising. Was it because her mother knew before her? Because Kara kept it a secret? Was it because she refused to connect the dots because she didn't want to know?

“Oh, come on Lena, don’t be so dramatic. So what I’ve known about your girlfriend’s secret identity? I did meet her first, after all.”

“She is not my girlfriend!” Lena felt a migraine coming along. “I’m going to go get the materials from the labs.” She was pretty sure her eye was twitching but she didn’t care. She needed some space from her mother. “Keep an eye on her, Hope,” she muttered as she walked out of the room. The lights dimmed slightly in response.

Lena walked a flight down and into an empty office. She activated the earpiece that had stayed quiet so far. “Jess? How are you doing?”

“So far so good.” The vigilante strained her ears to try and pick up anything on the other end but it seemed like Hope was blocking out the background noise.

“My mother and I have come up with a plan, so hang tight.” She paused. “Pun not intended.”

“Will do, Lena! I’m running low on web fluid, but Maggie has a really badass alien gun,” Jess exclaimed.

“I’m glad you’re watching each other’s back. Stay safe, Jess. I’ll keep in touch.” Lena ended the call and headed towards the elevator. Time to save the world. No big deal.

-

Jess was having the time of her life. Never in a million years would she have thought that she would be swinging through National City on a substance that mimicked spider’s silk while in her boss’ vigilante suit when she was hired at LuthorCorp. She was so glad she was able to deal with Lex Luthor and meet his sister who, in her unbiased opinion, was way more intelligent and caring than her brother.

Jess spotted a couple of cops struggling against some Daxamites. She dropped down and swung her first at the alien closest to her.

“How about you try a web grenade?” Hope asked.

Jess ducked and swiped at her attacker’s feet. Once he was on the ground, she webbed him to the floor. “That’s a good idea, Hope.” She reached for the sphere that hung off the belt she was carrying (it slung across her body and had 6 grenades in total) and pressed the button. Immediately she threw it in the center of the Daxamites and watched in fascination as it blew apart. Webs flew out of it and clung onto the aliens surrounding it, effectively wrapping them in a web blanket. “That is so cool. Did you get that on video?”

“Yes, Jess.” Hope’s voice seemed amused. Jess was super excited. Lena made the blueprints and left instructions, but ultimately, Jess was the one who built it. And it worked! So, yeah. She was over the moon.

“New gadget, Spidey?” Someone walked over and the assistant recognized her as Maggie Sawyer from the group chat.

“Yep.” Jess was practically vibrating with energy. The adrenaline rush was crazy. “It was a last-minute add, but I managed to finish it. And it worked!” She looked around in awe. “Oh, and it’s nice to finally meet you, Maggie.” Jess offered her hand.

“Nice to meet you too, Jess.” Maggie’s smile showed off her dimples. “You seem overly excited for someone in a death suit.”

“Don’t even get me started on the suit. I was still trying to get the hang of web-swinging and face planted into a building. I hardly felt anything from it! It’s so cool.” Jess was honored that she was being trusted with her boss’ alter ego.

“I hope someone took a picture of that so Lena could see it,” Maggie teased.

“As if she hasn’t done that on accident before.” Even though the detective couldn’t see the assistant’s eyes, they shared a look. “Okay, she probably hasn’t. Anyway, are we going to go kick more alien ass or what?” Jess could probably take on the whole Daxamite fleet if she wanted to right now.

“I can see why Lena likes you. Come on, you can ride with me.” The cop gestured to her cruiser. Jess nodded and went into the passenger seat. She was really doing this. “I picked this up so we can watch each other's six's.” Maggie handed her an alien gun. What even was her life right now?

They drove about two blocks before they spotted a makeshift camp holding people in it. The car was parked and both women headed towards it. Maggie shot her gun at one of the four guards and all of them turned to the humans.

“Hope, play Just a Girl.” The music started playing in her mask and Jess was ready to kick ass. She charged.

“On your left.” Jess turned and sent a punch in that direction. “Behind you.” She twirled around and was punched in the gut. It felt uncomfortable, but it didn’t hurt. Didn’t hurt her, at least. The alien hissed and Jess took that opportunity to web him up. “Duck.” She dropped and looked up to see a fist appear where her head just was. She grabbed the arm as she stood up and flipped the person. When they landed on the ground, she webbed him up too. Within five minutes, the people were freed.

“So. Cool.” Jess raised her hand for a high five and Maggie accepted it while laughing. The music from Lena’s playlist still played but she didn’t mind it - she was even more hyped.

“I’m glad at least one of us is having fun.” They got back into the car and busted a mission. 

Every time they saw the Daxamites, Maggie would pull the car over and they would help the people that were being harassed. Once, Maggie didn’t even stop the car. Instead, she told Jess to shoot her webs outside the window, insisting that Lena did that sometimes when she didn’t want to chase criminals. Jess pointed her wrist outside the window and waited for the perfect moment and shot a long stream of webbing. The alien was taken by surprise and was successfully webbed to a pole. Jess felt like an absolute badass.

“Lena has a plan,” Jess announced as she released her last web grenade.

“Good. How are you with webbing?” The assistant looked down at her wrists.

“Almost empty.” Jess had fun at first, but now she was tired. And sore. She was  _ so _ going to feel this in the morning. No wonder Lena ate so much, this was taxing.

“Let’s finish this block and I’ll drop you off at L-Corp.” Jess nodded in agreement. Thankfully, there were only two more Daxamites. She used the last of her webbing to stick them to the wall. “Sam is coming next week.”

“Oh, yeah?” Maggie glanced at her passenger. “Have you met her before?”

“A couple of times, back in Metropolis. She and Lena hit it off, so she’d visit the office sometimes.” Jess smiled fondly. Ms. Arias was pretty much Lena’s first friend during the Luthor crisis.

“Hit it off, or hit it off?” Maggie raised an eyebrow.

“They’re just friends if that’s what you’re asking. I’ll warn you though, I think Sam is just as much of a headass as you are. Poor Ruby,” Jess chuckled to herself.

“Impossible. Once she gets here, we’ll have to have a girls night out. The Spider Friends in full force!” Maggie pulled up to L-Corp.

“I’ll let Lena know. See you later, detective.” Jess walked into the empty lobby and realized she was going to have to take the stairs since half the building was falling apart around her. 

“Wait outside the office, Jess,” Hope spoke. Jess sat down and waited patiently for her boss.

“Jess!” Lena sped walked out of her office and hugged her friend tightly. To say Jess was shocked was an understatement, she never got hugged by Lena before. Maybe today was the best day of her life. “I’m assuming you’re okay because the suit doesn’t look damaged. You are okay, right?”

“Yeah. I’m great, actually. The web grenades? They worked perfectly. Hope said she recorded it so you can look at it and we can work on upgrades together. Then, Maggie and I teamed up and I swear the two of us together defeated at least 100 of those Daxamites…” Lena let Jess rant on as she listened attentively. She was glad her friend was safe and that she had a blast being out there.

“Maybe I should move you to the R&D department, eh?” Lena raised her eyebrow. Jess was a spectacular assistant, but there were more things she could be doing. Hope updated Lena on all the work she and Jess did together and her assistant had a gift. She was destined to be more than her assistant.

“But, who’s going to be your assistant? What about-” she gestured at the suit- “I don’t trust anyone to take my job while you’re out there doing this.” Lena’s cold exterior melted a bit and she smiled.

“How about we talk about this later? We can figure something out, I promise. Right now, my mother is in the office.” Lena’s sour mood returned. “She can’t see you right now. She saw me in the suit earlier and I think she’ll notice the height difference. Best for you to go home. I left a change of clothes and the keys to my car behind your desk. This should be over soon.”

Jess laughed as she reached behind her desk for the bag. “It’s kind of weird. The role reversal, I mean. Usually, I’d be doing all this for you.”

“I didn’t even think about it that way.” Lena’s smile was wry. “Get home safe. I also recommend a hot bath with a big meal.” She winked and walked back into her office.

“What took you so long?” Her mother scoffed. She peeked behind her daughter and caught a glimpse of the descending figure of Spider-Woman. “Oh, so you  _ do _ work with the Spider?”

Lena counted to 10 once again as she walked back to her desk where she and Winn were working on the lead box. “What’s it to you, Mother?”

“I’m just curious is all. You have the Spider and a Super working for you. Imagine what you could accomplish with them at your side.” Lena did not like that gleam in her eye.

“I’m still here, you know. And I don’t like you.” Winn glared at Lillian. Lena found it kind of cute, he looked as threatening as a puppy. “I like you, though.” He glanced at Lena and continued to fiddle with his part. The youngest Luthor internally smiled at that.

“You must know who the Spider is under the mask,” Lillian continued. Lena had to concentrate to not bend the wrench in her hand. “You do realize that whoever they are, they can’t be trusted. They stole from your brother.” She paused in her tinkering. If she played her cards right, she could find out more information.

“Excuse us for a second, Winn.” Lena walked out of the office with her smug mother in tow. “What do you mean she stole from Lex?”

“Oh, please. How do you think they got their powers? Metahumans aren’t exactly a common occurrence here. Lex wanted powers to combat Superman in battle. He and three others were working on genetically modifying a spider so that when a person was bitten by it, they’d obtain spider-like abilities. It wasn’t finished, though. Lex didn’t even have time to run any tests on it before he was arrested.” Lena let that information sink in.

“In Metropolis?”

“Yes. They were working in the vault he had hidden away there. But after his arrest, no one was able to enter it since you’re the only one with Luthor blood. And I know you haven’t been home. This person is dangerous since they must’ve found a way into the vault. Who knows what else they could have stolen?” Lena’s head was reeling. For the second time that day, she questioned how that was possible. She was bitten here, in California. Not in Metropolis. She hadn’t been in Metropolis for almost a year now.

“I’ll keep an eye on them, then.” Lena felt dizzy. Things weren’t adding up. “Who were the people he was working with?”

“Irrelevant. Two of them were put down and the other went into hiding.”

“Who? Who went into hiding?” Lena pressed. Lillian was confused but answered her anyway.

“Dr. Curt Connors.” That name meant absolutely nothing to her.

She went back to help Winn to keep her mind off of things. At least Lillian’s story was consistent. She told Spider-Lena and Lena-Lena pretty much the same thing. What was she missing? Was Dr. Connors important? She had to go visit the vault and figure out what exactly happened. She might even need to visit her brother. The thought sent shivers down her spine.

“It’s done! You finished it, Lena!” Winn offered her his fist and she fist-bumped him almost reflexivity. Lillian scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Well, turn it on!” Her mother stomped towards the device.

“No, no, no, wait!” Winn protested. Lillian simply pushed him aside and pressed the button. Nothing happened.

“I thought you said that it worked?”

“Oh, it does,” Lena assured. “But I gave Supergirl the remote. Only she can activate it.” Lillian’s face was absolutely priceless. That alone might’ve been worth all the drama.

“You are brilliant. I can see why Kara likes you so much.” Winn said it so casually but Lena had to fight the blush that was threatening to expose her.

“I’ll be taking my leave now.” Lillian grabbed her things and walked out of the building. Lena didn’t like her mother, but a proper goodbye would have been nice.

“So, Supergirl tells me that you’re the one who makes Spider-Woman’s gear?” Winn excitedly asked as he sat across from Lena on the couch. She was mentally drained but decided to entertain him.

“Yeah, I do.”

Winn bounced in his seat. “We are definitely becoming friends now. That is the coolest thing ever! You know, I made Supergirl’s suit? It may not be as cool as Spidey’s but…” she let him rant about the inventions he made at the DEO and about the material of Supergirl’s suit. She can see why Kara befriended him - Winn was bubbly, nerdy, and intelligent. If he wasn’t working at the DEO, she would have asked if he wanted to work for L-Corp right then and there.

“That all sounds impressive, Winn,” she honestly complimented. “It’s a good thing you stopped working at CatCo, right?” His face resembled a child’s in a candy shop.

“You know, they’re wrong about you. The news, I mean. You are nothing like your brother.” The long day must have been getting to her because she smiled at him. “Kara defends you so venomously and then Maggie was vouching for you and I thought, “Well, gosh. If those two could trust you, then why can’t I?” That time at the gala, when we stopped those thugs, I thought you weren’t so bad. Anyone who risks their life for the greater good gets a gold star in my book.” He had such a boyish smile that Lena flashbacked to a younger Lex smiling down at her when she beat him at chess for the first time. She shook her head.

“Thank you, Winn. I don’t think you understand how much it means to me for you to say that.” Lena didn’t have any friends in National City when she first arrived. She and Jess were still getting to know each other and then Kara stumbled into her life somehow. She seemed kind and genuine and Lena needed a friend at the time, so she let her in. Though, she started wondering if Kara only became her friend because she was Supergirl and Lena was a Luthor? Maggie became her friend as Spider-Woman first then she befriended Lena. But Winn? He was starting to befriend her as Lena because he wanted to.

“Do you like sushi?” He blurted. Lena gave him a confused look. “It’s been a long day and I’m assuming you’ve been trapped in your office and probably haven’t eaten. I know it’s all “End of the World” out there, but I know this little shop that doesn’t close down for something like Daxamites invading. Unless you want to go straight home, that’s cool too.” It had to be because it was a long day and she was emotionally tired that she agreed.

“I don’t have my car, though.”

“It’s fine. I drove here.” Lena glanced at her office that was starting to fall apart. She, as Spider-Woman, was going to need to help with the reconstruction of the city. She’ll have Jess close L-Corp until further notice then.

After ordering, Lena realized it was just her and Winn. What was she even supposed to talk about? Most of her friends were girls and with Harry, they would talk about sports or their companies or the cute girls around them. She doubted the man in front of her cared about football.

“I think it’s obvious now that you know who the Spider is.” Lena nodded, unsure of where this conversation was going. “Is she sticky or is it the suit? How strong is she? How fast is she? Does she work out a lot? What’s her day job? Does she bartend at night and during the day she swings around the city?”

“She’s the sticky one, actually. She has very tiny hairs all over her called setae. The setae then branch into even smaller hairs called setules.  The setae and setules work by exchanging electrons with surfaces, creating enough attraction across the surface area which allow her to stick to the surface - like actual spiders. Except, on a bigger scale, obviously,” Lena recited. She spent at least a couple of hours looking at different spiders and herself.

“Woah, really? Then how come she’s able to stick even with the suit on?”

“I make sure that the material is thin enough. Or in the case of the Mark II, I made sure that it is thick everywhere to provide protection except the fingertips and toes so it is still thin enough for her to stick onto surfaces.” That was an annoying part to factor in while creating the suit, but the outcome was worth it. “We actually haven’t run any tests for her physical capabilities,” Lena admitted. She didn’t see a reason to right away and things kept happening so she forgot to. “We know she can lift about 10 tons, jump over buildings, and run faster than cars. She works out by crime-fighting, I guess.”

“How have you not ran physical tests on her?” Winn seemed taken aback by the idea. “We measure Supergirl’s abilities at least once every six months. If she’s willing, I can take Spide-Woman into the DEO and see what she can really do. Maybe she and Supergirl could spar! Imagine how cool that would be.” Winn’s smile was infectious.

“I don’t know, she’s a busy person. But maybe I could convince her to swing by one day.” Having Supergirl as a sparring partner would help her with the more advanced moves. Maggie was excellent on the ground, but Lena wanted to practice more in aerial combat.

“Sweet.” He fist-bumped the air. The waiter brought the food over but that didn’t slow Winn down from his questioning.

“What are the suits actually made of? The webs? I tried to study it, but they dissolve before I can run any tests.” Lena used her chopsticks to grab a piece and carefully dipped it into some soy sauce.

“Well…” Lena spent the next hour speaking to her new friend about her alter ego as if she wasn’t the one they were talking about. She kept some things hidden, like where they work and how they know each other - Winn didn’t push, he seemed to know the importance of a secret identity - and she didn’t mention Hope at all. Maybe one day when their friendship was stronger and she trusted him, she could introduce him to her AI.

“She did it.” Lena looked up from her plate and followed Winn’s line of vision outside of the window. There were beams heading into the spaceships and the ships were flying away. The vigilante swelled with pride, all their hard work paid off! But then she remembered Mon-El and her stomach dropped. Winn’s face seemed to realize that as well.

“You should go check on her. I’ll finish up here.” They still had another plate to go.

“I can’t just do that!” Lena fixed him with a look. “At least let me pay some.” Winn grabbed his wallet and put down a twenty. “It was nice meeting you officially, Lena.” He shook her hand and dashed out.

Lena sighed and looked down at the menu. She ended up ordering more for herself and decided the twenty would be used as a tip. Kara used the device. She sent her own boyfriend away. Lena wondered if she would be able to do the same. If there were Kryptonian invaders and she had to use the device with Kryptonite, would she press the button? Would she be able to send Kara away even if it meant saving the world? She ate in silence.

The next two days were a blur. She and Supergirl were all over the city helping to speed up the reconstruction rate. They couldn’t build houses or business buildings themselves, but they were able to lift heavy objects. Lena lifted tons and tons of debris off the street and carried a car across to the mechanic shop. Supergirl was all business, no talk. Lena didn’t blame her, though. She had just sent her boyfriend into space.

“Hey.” Lena was swinging through the night sky with two boxes of pizza for herself until she noticed Supergirl on the roof of the water tower. She decided to give her some company.

“Hey.” Kara’s eyes were dull, her usual happiness dimmed.

“Lena told me what happened.” Spidey sat down next to her friend and offered her the first box of pizza. “It’s Hawaiian, you’re favorite,” she bribed. Lena didn’t particularly like pineapple on her pizza, but it was all they had ready and she wasn’t going to be picky.

“How would you know that?” She took the box carefully and smelled it. A small smile appeared on her face as she took a slice.

“There’s a reason I wear a full face mask, you know.” Lena decided to wait and eat her pizza when the conversation died down. “Glasses and a ponytail would’ve given me away from day one.”

“Oh.” Supergirl seemed defeated.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone. Spider’s honor.” Lena raised her left hand and rested her right on the pizza. That at least got a chuckle out of her reporter friend.

“Thank you.” Kara finished the rest of the pizza in silence. The vigilante felt like there was more she wanted to say, so she simply looked at the city below her and waited until Supergirl was ready to ask. “Does Lena know?” Her voice sounded sad and resigned, almost as if she was afraid of the answer.

Lena could simply say no and lie to her. Kara wouldn’t be any of the wiser. But she couldn’t do that to her. “Yeah. Yeah, Lena knows.” Supergirl’s shoulders sagged even more. She took her face in her hands and shook her head.

“Rao, I am such a mess. Kara Danvers was a mistake and now Lena probably hates me for lying to her this whole time. She must think that I hate her. Or maybe she thinks our friendship is fake. I can’t do anything right.” Supergirl slammed her hand on the metal and it bent under the pressure.

“Hey, don’t think like that. She’s not mad at you, that I can promise. You’re going through a hard time right now, she understands that. She also understands why you didn’t tell her.” It was probably for the same reason Spider-Woman didn’t tell the alien she was talking about herself.

“I just sent my boyfriend into space, unsure whether he’s going to make it somewhere safe. What kind of person does that make me?” Lena scooted over and hesitantly took the Super’s hand in her own.

“There’s this woman that I like,” Lena started. Unconsciously, she started to fiddle with their interlocked fingers. “She is amazing. Headstrong, passionate, caring, and she has the biggest heart any person on any planet has. We haven’t known each other for long, a little less than a year, but she means so much to me. If our roles were reversed, I don’t think I would’ve pressed the button. I don’t think I could have sent her away. That being said, I think that you are strong and courageous, Supergirl. You saved the planet at the expense of your heart and I have to say thank you. You saved us and you saved all the people I love.” Lena went to pull her hand away, but Kara squeezed. Lena squeezed back in acknowledgment.

“Thank you,” Kara whispered.

“For you? Always,” Lena whispered back so quietly she wasn’t sure if she spoke it. “Want to share the last pizza?”

“You know, not many people appreciate pineapple on pizza.” Seeing that the box was just out of her reach, Lena shot a web and dragged it towards her.

“I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan. But the girl I was telling you about loves it.” Lena pulled back her mask and grabbed a slice. Maybe she was being a bit careless about the whole secret identity thing, but Kara was a bit oblivious and maybe she wanted to be found out. Just maybe.

“She’s got great taste then. I bet I would like her.” Lena smiled at Kara’s words and nodded mutely. They stayed on top of the water tower until dawn, hands interlocked, Supergirl’s head upon Spider-Woman’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking of making a mini-series of behind the scenes of each chapter - texts, Instagrams I didn't post, Tweets I didn't posts, thoughts?
> 
> Or I was thinking of making a mini-series of au's set within this universe. Thoughts?
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked)


	9. Holy Trinity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter marks the end of phase one. Sam and Ruby finally make their debut and some questions are answered while new questions arise...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit all over the place since I wrote this at 2 separate times. Next chapter will be the beginning of phase two ;)
> 
> I binged watched 4 seasons of Legends of Tomorrow in 3 days and holy crap I love it. Sara Lance stole my heart right away. Imagine Spidey-Lena with these clowns? I'll probably write a fic about it tbh I freaking love the show.

It was finally Friday. Tomorrow would mark one week from the disaster with Rhea and honestly, Lena was so ready to put that behind her. The construction on L-Corp was finished yesterday, but she didn’t even get to be in the office much because of a metahuman named Sandman. It took until nearly midnight to catch him and put him in metahuman handcuffs that disrupted his power to use his sand. Lena didn’t even want to think about what would happen if she was in those handcuffs. If she was outed.

“What are your thoughts, Ms. Luthor?” One of the board members asked. All of them were looking at her and she had just completely zoned out from the whole conversation. She leaned back, crossed her arms, and looked as if she were deep in thought.

“Basically, they were debating on the benefits and downsides of going through with your offer with Mr. Wayne. Mr. Broski is for it and is asking for your final opinion, Boss,” Hope supplied through the earpiece Lena wore. Thank God for her Artificial Intelligence.

“I agree with Mr. Broski.” Lena then leaned forward, resting her upper body on the table in an intimidating way. “Mr. Wayne and I both agree that opening up an orphanage in National City will be beneficial in the long run and it could potentially lower the crime rate.”

“That’s the problem, Ms. Luthor,” Mr. Graham spoke. “It won’t benefit the company in any way - it’ll actually use resources and we would gain nothing in return. Who even cares about the crime rate when we have Supergirl and Spider-Woman?”

Lena stood up and squared her shoulders back, staring directly into Mr. Graham's soul. “I have to disagree with you, Mr. Graham.” She stalked around to stand directly across from him at the table. All eyes were on her. “Not only will it be good PR, but the number of investors we have could increase. Who wouldn’t support a company that helps the poor children?” That was not why Lena wanted this to work so badly, but the men didn’t care about anything other than money. “I didn’t receive this much resistance when I built the children’s hospital. Why would you now fight against giving a home to children?” Lena stared him down and she saw his resolve break. Good.

“Ms. Luthor is right. All in favor?” The majority vote won.

“See? That wasn’t so hard.” Lena clicked her tongue in disdain. “Until next time, gentlemen.” She turned on her heel and sashayed out of the room, a satisfied smirk on her face.

“How did it go?” Jess offered her a cup of coffee. Ever since that accident with Kara, Lena took to sniffing her drinks to make sure there was no cinnamon in them. She involuntarily shivered at the thought.

“Just as I expected it to go. Walk with me and tell me what next week looks like.” Lena opted for the stairs since it was only five flights until her office and listened in to her assistant.

“On Monday, you have a meeting with the R&D department…” Jess continued to read off her iPad. “... and a meeting with Mr. Osborn to end the week.”

“That was quick.” Lena opened the door to her office and walked in. “Harry hasn’t mentioned anything, he probably wanted it to be a surprise.” She sat down at her desk and noticed she had company. What was the point in having a spider-sense if it didn’t alert her to other people? “Kara! Maggie! This is a surprise?”

“Yeah, it is.” Kara side-eyed the detective.

“I’ve realized the three of us haven’t hung out yet! So I decided we could right now before you get too busy,” Maggie winked at Lena but she remained confused.

“Uh, okay? I suppose I have some time to spare.”

“I brought Big Belly Burger. I got you your favorite.” Maggie held out a bag and handed it to Lena who warily took it. What was the detective up to?

“You have a favorite?” Kara looked taken aback. “I thought the only time you ate this was when I brought it,” she pouted.

“Oh, no, well yes. Uh.” Lena sat down and grasped her hands. “Maggie and I go when we have late nights together.” Not a lie. If they were patrolling really late, they tended to stop off at a fast food place to grab a bite. Lena hadn’t even noticed that she had a regular order.

“First you steal my sister and now you’re trying to steal my best friend?” Kara mocked. Her smile was wide and she started to eat some fries.

“You don’t have to worry about  _ me _ stealing her, Little Danvers.” Uh-oh. Lena did not like that expression on her friend’s face.

“Anyway, how have you been Kara? It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen each other.” As Kara and Lena, she mentally added.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’ve been throwing myself into my other job to avoid thinking about what happened with Mon-El.” Kara hadn’t explicitly told Lena that she knew that Lena knew she was Supergirl - this was the first time it was brought up.

“It’s okay, I understand.” She sat next to the reporter and took her hand, a habit she made when she was under the mask.

“Wait, hold on, back up.” The detective made a “time out” gesture with her hands. “You know about Kara’s night job?” Lena nodded. “Does she know…” Maggie trailed off.

“Know that I love and support her and am not mad about it? I hope so,” The CEO rushed out. Kara narrowed her eyes but stayed silent. “I understand why you didn’t tell me, Kara. If I had a secret that big, I wouldn’t know how to tell you even though I know you wouldn’t react badly. It’s a huge deal, you know? Having to hide a part of you.” Lena’s palms were sweating. She could come out right now and tell Kara she was Spider-Woman, there wasn’t a good reason not to. Kara would probably laugh it off and offer to team up or something.

“Oh, Lena.” She was engulfed in a hug. “I love and support you, too.” Lena and Maggie exchanged confused looks. Was the Super able to figure it out already? “Obviously I would support you, I mean I’m an alien from a different planet and my sister is gay. Is that why you and Maggie hit it off so quickly?” Lena swears her brain short-circuited at that moment. What?

“Yes!” Maggie was grinning so wide that Lena was sure her dimples were going to fall off. “Luthor and I bonded over how gay we are.” It took a second for her brain to get back online. Did she just come out to Kara? Wasn’t it already obvious to her best friend that she preferred girls?

“Right.” Kara released her from the hug and Lena grabbed for the burger to distract herself. Did that mean that the reporter really didn’t know that the businesswoman had been flirting with her for almost a year now? She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to feel relieved that her feelings had a chance at being returned or annoyed that her crush was obvious to everyone except said girl.

It was a bit awkward for the first ten minutes since this was a whole different dynamic she wasn’t used to. With Maggie, Lena could make stupid puns about food and act childish as if she wasn’t the CEO of a multi-billion company. Her childish side that was repressed came out with the detective because of her playful and childish nature. However, her personality with Kara was completely different. With the reporter, Lena was soft and her more caring side was brought out. They would talk about the best food places in the city or the meaning of life. She was a little aloof, but she was determined to look like an adult woman in front of her. So it was hard which personality to use when it was Kara and Maggie together. Adding to that, Maggie and Kara weren’t even good friends, all they had in common was Alex. And Lena now, apparently.

“I’m just saying, being vegan is an absolutely reasonable thing to be! It’s not like I’m planning on taking over the world.” Maggie threw a fry at Lena, who caught it with her mouth (Kara was so surprised, she almost dropped her drink).

“I’m not the one disagreeing!” Lena protested after swallowing. “I just said that it was a hard choice. I think I was vegan all of one week before going back to being vegetarian. Wine and cheese just go so well together, Maggie.”

“I disagree with both of you. I think meat is amazing and if Lena had asked me to eat one more kale thing, I would’ve died. It’s Kryptonite in food form!” As if making a point, Kara made a show of eating her cheeseburger.

“Maybe it’s because you’re an alien.” Maggie shrugged and continued to eat her salad. “I’m not like you guys who can just down as much food as you want and not have to worry about it! I like to think that my eating style is good for my body and is saving the environment. Plus, it’s gay culture,” she laughed. Lena rolled her eyes and crumpled up her wrapper.

“Wait, what do you mean your body isn’t like “you guys,” as in plural. As in Lena and I?” Kara tilted her head. Okay, abort mission. Abort!

Before she could even open her mouth to come up with a lame excuse, a familiar voice called out, “Mama!” Mama? Lena stood up from her couch and saw Ruby barreling towards her. The small girl jumped up and clung onto the vigilante like a koala.

“Ruby! Oh, look at you! You’ve grown so much.” Ruby pulled back some to smile at Lena but she didn’t dismount.

“Mama?” Kara questioned. She was stumped as to what was happening.

“Babe!” Sam Arias walked into the room, Jess hanging out by the door to watch. “It’s been so long since I’ve last seen you.” She kissed Lena’s cheek in greeting. Lena was bewildered.

“I thought you two weren’t coming in until tomorrow?” She completely missed the way Kara accidentally crushed her cup and how Maggie was recording in the corner.

“We couldn’t wait to see you, Mama.” Ruby finally dismounted but was still clinging onto the woman. Why did she keep calling her Mama?

“One more day was one day too long, Lee.” Sam winked at her best friend before “just realizing” that they weren’t alone. “Maggie! It’s great to finally meet you!” They shared a quick hug. “And who are you?” Sam’s voice was light and her smile was too big after a long flight, but she didn’t care. She knew exactly who this was, but she was following Maggie’s plan. Kara’s eye twitched.

“Where are my manners?” Lena decided to just play along. “Sam, this is my best friend in National City, Kara Danvers. Kara, this is Samantha Arias, my new partner.” Kara’s heartbeat was beating erratically and her face was hard to read.

“It’s nice to meet you, Samantha.” Kara may have squeezed a little too hard, but Sam didn’t physically react to it. Why was Kara so annoyed by this new person? Because they were so chummy with Lena? Because she kissed Lena Luthor who flinches away from too much physical contact on the cheek casually? Because her daughter called Lena Mama? Because they were partners?

“I didn’t realize you were having lunch, I’m sorry for just barging in here.” Sam didn’t look sorry at all and, with a glance at Jess’s face, she knew Sam didn’t just barge in here.

“You know you’re never a bother, Sammy.” Lena smiled at her friend.

“I actually just so happen to have extra food. Join us for lunch, Sam! Jess tells me that you may be about as headass as I am.” Maggie smirked as she put her phone down and grabbed two extra bags that Lena didn’t even realize she had.

“I don’t want to impose…” Sam started.

“Then don’t,” Lena heard Kara whisper to herself.

“What does headass mean?” Ruby frowned.

“Okay!” Lena smiled tightly. This was super awkward for her. All of her friends were in the same room yet her spider-sense was tingling with some sort of tension. “I’m assuming Maggie has your food too, Jess?” The Irish woman raised a perfect eyebrow and the cop nodded eagerly, happy Lena finally caught on that this was all planned. She also seemed to just now notice that Kara had spilled a drink all over herself. “How about we go to the bathroom to wash you up?”

Kara stood up stiffly, nodded, and walked out of the office.

“Someone looks a little jealous,” Sam teased.

“We are talking about this later!” Lena pointed at the three women who didn’t even look a bit guilty.

“So. Sam.” Kara was mindlessly wiping at her pants with a wet paper towel. “In what way are you partners?” It seemed casual enough but Lena heard her heart hammering in her chest. Why was the alien so nervous?

“She’s going to be my CFO while I focus more on the research L-Corp does. I’m finishing up the solar panels I was working on and I want to move onto making a device to filter salt water so it’s drinkable. I’ve also got a million other side projects I’m working on, but I can’t tell you everything, now can I?” Lena raised a teasing eyebrow and Kara’s mood seemed to brighten.

“So you’re just business partners then?” Lena hummed in response. “Then why did her daughter call you Mama?”

The shorter woman rolled her eyes. “They were just trying to prank you, I’m sure. I knew the three of them meeting was going to cause trouble.” She wasn’t sure if National City was ready for the kind of havoc Maggie, Jess, and Sam were going to wreck. Lena was going to keep Ruby as far away from their shenanigans as possible.

They stayed in the bathroom for a couple more minutes chatting before heading back into the office. Lena may have let her arm linger on Kara’s for longer than necessary. And Kara may have sat right next to Lena so that their thighs were touching. She was not jealous. Not at all. She saw Lena as a good friend. A very good friend. Nothing more.

Once Kara and Maggie left to go back to lunch, Lena turned on her friend. “What the hell was that about, Arias?”

“Maggie thought it would be funny. Kara is so into you, why aren’t you guys dating already?” Sam’s smug face made Lena blush. Kara didn’t like her like that, right? She did seem a little jealous, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Right?

“Because just last week, I “yeeted” her boyfriend into space?” Lena looked at Ruby to see if she used the word right and she received a smile with two thumbs up in response.

“That does complicate things.”

Deciding to change the topic, Lena looked over at Jess and asked: “So have you decided if you want to work in the R&D department yet?”

“I don’t want to leave you with a random person!” Jess argued again. “What if they come in here and see you in the suit? Or they come in here and you just disappeared even though you didn’t leave the room? Or they get you something with cinnamon and you freak out like-”

“That happened once!” Lena squinted at the ceiling in an attempt to narrow her eyes at Hope who she no doubt showed Jess the footage. The lights brighten a bit as if her AI was amused with her creator (Lena learned how to interrupt the light changes to different emotions Hope was trying to convey).

“Is there a story there?” Sam butted in. Lena glared and missed how Jess had mouthed ‘later’ to Arias. “Anyway, I think you should take the job, Jess. Lena doesn’t just give people opportunities like that. Plus, I’m here now so hopefully, the new assistant won’t actually interact with Lena much. By the way, am I getting your office?”

“Sike,” the youngest woman snorted. “I have spider stuff hidden all over the room, and I use the balcony as an exit. Your office is in the room right next to mine, though.” She pointed at the door she had installed behind the couch. There was an office that was as big as hers, complete with a couch and a desk.

“You have your Spider-Woman stuff in here?” Ruby put her phone down and stood up. “Where? Can I see it? Please, Auntie Lena?” Ruby went on her knees in front of Lena and mimicked someone praying.

“Well, how can I say no to that?” The cold-hearted snake, Lena Luthor, was actually mush inside. And she had a soft spot for Sam’s daughter - after all, she knew the girl for two years and got her interested in science. “Jess, will you show Sam her office? You two can catch up or whatever,” she waved her hand dismissively.

The vigilante walked over to the white wall and placed her hand on the desk. It scanned her palm and the wall slid open to reveal her little room.

“Woah!” Ruby walked straight to the Mark I that was on a mannequin and circled it. “Can I touch it?” Lena nodded and Ruby ran her hand over the chest of the suit. Once she was done examining it, she noticed her table that was currently full of her web fluid. It was a mess- liquid webs were hanging off the table, vials were scattered, a web-shooter was open, and empty cartridges were thrown around.

“Sorry about the mess.” The vigilante went to try and tidy it up. “I was going to make more but then the board members got here early, so I kind of left in a rush.” She washed as the youngest Arias hesitantly touched a web and it attached to her finger.

“You make all this?” She gestured at the table.

“Yeah. I’ve got the web formula memorized and so does Jess, so I destroyed all copies on how to make it. It takes some finesse to put the fluid into the cartridges, but you get the hang of it easily enough. Jess and I were able to figure out how to make web grenades, so once it’s activated, a bunch of webs are thrown everywhere to capture the nearby people.”

“Could you teach me how to make it?” Ruby’s eyes were wide and eager. “You are so smart, Auntie. This is the coolest thing ever, no cap. I bet your suit has a bunch of tech in it, too. Oh! Mom was telling me about Hope! Is she here?”

“I’ll teach you how to make it. No cap?”

“Do I need to send you more material to look over?” Ruby had been sending Lena vines and memes to try and “educate her”. “It means I’m not lying.”

“Oh. It’s not like I practice speaking your language, Ruby. I can’t very well walk into a boardroom and say “Low-key, our numbers have been wack. It may have you all shooketh, but our stocks are falling, no cap. I want my stocks on fleek or else you all are going to have to slide into other people’s dm’s for a job. L-Corp does not take L’s, and that’s the tea. Don’t look so triggered, let’s get this bread!” Imagine how ridiculous I would sound?”

Ruby had tears streaming down her face. “Auntie, that was so beautiful.” She hugged Lena tight. “That was spot on. I can’t believe it. You have mastered generation Z language.”

Unsure of what to do or say, Lena introduced Hope. “Hope, this is Ruby Arias, Sam’s daughter. She is to be added onto the list.” The list of people who could interact and use Hope was pretty lengthy now - Lena, Jess, Maggie, Sam, and now Ruby.

“Did you record the whole thing, Hope? Could you send it to me?” Oh no, what did Lena do?

“Right away, Ms. Arias.”

“Why does she have an Irish accent?” Ruby asked as they walked out of the room.

“I tried to base her voice off of my mom’s,” Lena sat down on the couch, “but there wasn’t enough of her voice recorded for Hope. Now it’s generic.”

Sam and Jess walked back into the room before the silence got awkward.

“Where are you going to stay tonight?” The CEO questioned her friend.

“With you, of course.” The raven-haired woman rolled her eyes good naturally. “The house isn’t going to be done until next week, so I figured we could kick it with you for now.”

“Of course.” Lena had the room and she didn’t mind at all. “Don’t complain when you hear me eating in the kitchen at 3 in the morning or if I accidentally blow something up in my lab,” she warned.

Jess laughed and added in, “Or if she wakes you at one in the morning because she got badly injured and needs someone to stitch her up.”

“Again, that was once!” The Mysterio fiasco was something she didn’t want to repeat.

“Is she talking about when you went into a spider coma or something? With the webs?” That sounded a bit creepy.

“Yeah.” In her defense, she has only done that once so far.

“Maggie tells me you sleep on the ceiling sometimes. Is that true?” Ruby asked.

“Yes. When you guys get bit by a radioactive spider that hasn’t had any tests done on it that your evil brother made, then you can judge my weird habits! The spider DNA in me gives me certain urges sometimes, it’s not my fault,” the Spider defended herself.

“Is that spider still alive?” Ruby asked excitedly.

“No!” Lena and Sam said at the same time.

“Anyways,” Jess stepped in, “since everyone is staying at Lena’s, do you want me to babysit Ruby there tonight?”

“What?” Lena looked at Sam.

“Oh, yeah! Good idea, Jess.” Sam smiled sweetly at her boss. “Maggie invited us to game night and I said we’d go.”

Lena sighed. What was she going to do with her friends? “You do realize that this will be the first time I properly meet Kara’s sister, Alex, right?”

“I think Maggie mentioned it. It’ll be fine, I’m going to be your wing woman for Kara and your buffer with Alex.” Ruby facepalmed at her mom.

“I told Ruby that I was going to teach her how to make the web fluid, but since you’re going to be at my house anyway, why don’t you show her Jess? At least they could be having fun while we’re being judged by Kara’s friends. I can’t even get drunk!”

“Yes!” Ruby fist-bumped the air.

“According to that video, you can get drunk,” Sam playfully teased.

“I have to get Maggie back for that,” the woman groaned.

“Did I hear the start of a prank war?” Jess chimed in.

“Did you?” Sam’s eyes lit up with mischief.

“No! No, no!” Lena desperately tried to dissolve the idea. “I have spider-powers, remember? It’s going to be an unfair advantage. Climbing walls, spider-sense,” she tried to get them to see reason.

“You’re right.” Sam nodded sagely. Lena sighed in relief. “We’re going to have to get creative so her spider-sense doesn’t go off.” This is it. This is how Lena died. Not an assassin. Not her brother. No, it would be by her friends.

“We’re definitely going to talk about this more in detail, but Lena has a phone call with a French investor in ten minutes,” Jess commented after looking at her watch.

“Feel free to stay in here, if you want. Or Jess can give you guys a tour. Once I’m done for the night, we’ll head home to get ready.” Jess and Sam nodded and decided to tour L-Corp with Ruby. Lena looked through her paperwork for all the facts she needed to pull this person in.

“We’re thirty minutes late, Sam. Maybe we should just go home,” Lena pleaded.

“If you can fight aliens, you can talk to a cute girl and her friends. I’ll be with you the whole time.” Sam patted her shoulder. Before the younger woman could procrastinate any longer, Sam knocked on the door.

“Sam!” Lena scolded. A second later, the door flung open to reveal Kara.

“Lena, you made it!” She hugged her friend and then smiled at Sam. “It’s nice seeing you again, Sam.”

“Same here. We’re sorry for being late. This one,” she nodded towards Lena, “was down in the lab. We practically had to drag her out.”

Kara smiled softly. “Yeah, she is kind of passionate about her work. Come in, come in. Everyone’s here already. There are some pizza and beer, help yourselves.”

“Thank you, Kara.” They stepped into the room and everyone was looking at them. Maggie hopped up from her spot next to Alex and ran over to them.

“Took you two long enough. Kara, introduce them to everyone. I’ll get you guys some food.” Maggie winked at Sam who winked back. Lena was oblivious to this interaction.

“Right, okay. Alex, this is Lena and her friend from Metropolis, Sam. Guys, this is my sister Alex.” They shook hands and introduced each other (Lena was so nervous her hand stuck to Alex’s. It took her a second to release her grip and she was so embarrassed, she decided to keep her hands behind her back).

“Hello, Winn. Nice to see you again.” She nodded at him and he smiled.

“Lena! It’s been a while,” he laughed. “I’m Winn, nice to meet you.” He offered his hand to Sam.

“Sam Arias.” Kara was beaming. Her friends were getting along with Lena and her friend!

“This is James Olsen,” she introduced last. “I guess you already know who they are.”

“I do.” He shook Sam’s hand with a “nice to meet you” before looking at Lena. His smile was tight and forced. “Luthor.” Lena tensed up and her fists balled. She was foolish to think all of Kara’s friends accepted her. Of course, there would be one person who disliked her. It made sense it would be Olsen - she was no stranger to how many times Lex had tried to kill him.

“How about we start off with charades, huh?” Kara said a little too eagerly. So Lena wasn’t the only one who felt the tension.

“That’s a great idea.” Maggie came back with two plates, one fuller than the other. “These two can sit out for the first round or two while we show them what we got. Am I right babe?” She plopped down next to Alex and kissed her cheek.

“You’re going to be the judge this round so the Danvers sisters can make a debut.” Alex stood up and cracked her fingers. “Ready to kick their ass, dear sister of mine?”

“Duh.”

“Why does this smell funny?” Lena whispered to Sam. Sam glanced over at the brownie in Lena’s hand.

“Maggie is trying out a new vegan recipe. I told her you would taste them for her,” Sam easily explained.

“Guess my spiderness thinks healthy stuff is weird then.” She ate the brownie and nodded. “It tastes fine, I guess. Nothing I would go out to get, though.” Sam tried to hide her devious smile behind a slice of pizza.

“I’ll be sure to tell her that, then.” To keep up appearances, Sam had grabbed two beers for them. Lena drank hers absentmindedly. Growing up, the Luthor didn’t play board games. Instead, she followed her brother like a lost puppy and built robots. Even in boarding school, she didn’t get a chance to play games because she was an outsider to other people. Not knowing how to play games was the biggest reason she didn’t want to come. Right before being dragged out of the lab, Lena was playing board games by herself so she could try and familiarize herself with the rules. Sam had found her and gave her a sad smile.

“Are you sure you want to play Monopoly?” Winn asked as Kara brought the boardgame over to the table. “You do realize Lena is CEO of her own company with Sam as her CFO, right? We’re going to be decimated.”

“I’ve never played monopoly before if that’s any consolation.” Lena drank from her beer and ate another brownie. She was starting to feel a bit light-headed. It must have been the lights.

“I’ll bet you $5 Lena wins,” Maggie told Alex.

“I’ll bet you $10 Sam win,” her girlfriend countered.

“You hear that, Little Luthor? You better win.” Lena nodded. Yeah, she did feel light-headed. And fidgety.

An hour later, Lena was declared the winner. Winn lay on the ground in defeat. Alex stared blankly into space. Kara looked heartbroken. Sam crossed her arms in defiance. James looked dead inside. Maggie was grinning as if she had won the lottery.

“Let’s play Jenga!” Kara announced to try and lighten the mood.

“I’m sitting this one out. Maggie can I have a word?” Lena walked to the opposite side of the room. The lights were waving at her and for the life of her, she couldn’t stay still. Her knee had been bouncing the whole duration of the game and she had a strong urge to climb the walls. “What the hell did you put in those brownies?”

“Pot.” Maggie looked proud of her answer. Vegan recipe. God, she was going to have to get Sam back.

“Okay, but why? You do realize I’ve eaten like ten of those, right?” Lena was no stranger to weed but she wasn’t sure what the effects would be on her now.

“Well, we don’t know a way to get you wasted yet. So I figured this might be the next best thing.” She paused and looked at the Spider. “Is it working?”

“Is it working?” Lena mocked. Her hands twitched and she felt like she needed to do something. She felt like she could run a mile. Maybe even fly like Supergirl. Supergirl. She was in Supergirl’s apartment! “I better not say anything stupid.” Great, she was high. She could handle this. “No recording either,” she added.

“You okay?” Sam seemed concerned at least.

“Vegan recipe? Really?” She sat down and her heart was racing. Kara must have heard her unusual heartbeat because she glanced up and tilted her head, a silent question asking if she was okay. Lena bobbed her head and then smiled at the action. Her head was so light compared to how heavy it was when she was drunk.

Alex dropped the Jenga tower and Lena giggled quietly to herself. Lena tried to play the next round but with her super strength not completely in check, when she pulled a piece out and put it on top, the whole tower fell.

“I shook the table, sorry,” Sam rushed in to explain.

“We should play something else. Like Truth or Dare. Or Never Have I Ever.” Maggie offered. It was best to keep high Lena from playing any board games in case she did something reckless.

“Oh my God, I haven’t played that since high school,” Sam chuckled. “I’m in.” Everyone agreed but James who said he had to get going. Lena stuck her tongue out when his back was turned. “Stop it,” Sam scolded. Lena hissed at her.

“Do you have something I can write with?” Kara looked at Lena with a puzzled expression.

“She’s drunk. When she’s drunk, she likes to design things,” Maggie answered the unasked question.

“Okay, sure.” While Alex poured shots for everyone, Kara grabbed a journal and a pencil for Lena who immediately started designing a car.

“I’ll start,” Winn declared. The game of Never Have I Ever started off innocently enough. Topics like failed a class or skipped school or stole, but as the people started to get more drunk, the topics started to shift to more sexual.

“Never have I ever had sex while someone else was in the room.” Winn looked around as he said his part to see if anyone had. Sam and Lena exchanged looks and laughed loudly. Lena was clutching her stomach and Sam was hitting her thigh. After a second of everyone staring at them, Lena grabbed her shot glass.

“Cheers.” They clinked their glasses and downed them, though they were still laughing.

“Was it with each other or did you catch each other?” Alex asked uncertainty. That caused them to laugh harder. “Actually, do I want to know?”

“All I’m going to say is that Ruby is a heavy sleeper,” Lena managed in between laughs. This only caused Sam to laugh and they were gone to the rest of the world.

“Gross!” Kara’s face burned red and she wished she Winn didn’t go there. “I’m done playing.”

“Me too,” Lena readily agreed. She walked over to the couch with Kara’s journal and moved on from the car onto yet another suit. She was writing down ideas for materials and possible upgrades with a new design. “Have I told you how beautiful you look today?”

Kara looked taken aback. “No?”

“Well, you’re beautiful. And you smell nice. You have good hair too.” Lena reached out to touch her hair but withdrew her hand when she noticed the pencil was stuck to it. She went to close the journal but that stuck to her hand too. “Uh, Sam?” She called out.

“What’s wrong?” Lena was playing it cool, hyper-aware of Kara staring at her.

“Uh, I’m stuck.” Her eyes darted down to her hands and Sam seemed to understand. “Do you think if I cut my hands off they’d regrow? No, that’s lizards, right? Spi-”

“You know what!” Sam exclaimed into the air to cut off her friend. “It’s getting late. We left Jess with Ruby, and she probably needs rescuing from my little munchkin.”

“Ruby isn’t bored. She’s making science with my-”

“Okay, well, we should go check on her, right?” Sam ignored the weird looks from everyone. “I’m taking her home now.” Maggie came over to help. She threw her coat over Lena’s hands to cover the fact that the journal and pen were still sticking to her.

“Take me on a date first,” Lena mumbled. Everyone said their goodbyes. “Bye Kara!” She tried to wave but Maggie held her arms down. “Bye Winn! Bye Alex!”

“I wonder how long this is going to last?” Sam asked as she put Lena into the passenger seat.

“I don’t know. She seemed to handle it just fine until the end. Maybe next time we should measure and run tests. I’ll deal with damage control, you just get her home safe, yeah?” Sam nodded and they shared a fist-bump.

“I want to climb. And spin a web. A big web. Do you think Kara would sleep on a web with me? I should ask her.” Lena made to pull out her phone and Sam almost crashed getting it out of her hands.

“No! We’re gonna go home and get you changed. Then, if you still want to, you can spin a web and sleep on it.”

“Okay.”

About twenty minutes later, they walked into the house. Sam led them straight to Lena’s room and pulled out a t-shirt and some sweatpants for her friend. When she turned around to hand them to Lena, the said woman was on the ceiling shooting webs in the upper right corner. Once she was satisfied with the amount that had accumulated, she went over and started to fashion a sort of hammock… thing.

“Thank you, Sam. Goodnight.” Lena handed the journal to her partner in exchange for the clothes. Right then and there she started to change so Sam stepped out of the room to look for her daughter.

“Hope, are they in the lab?” Sam asked.

“Yes, Sam.” She nodded and headed into the room.

Lena woke up with her mouth dryer than the Sahara. She sat up and noticed that she was in one of her cocoon things. She gently dropped to the ground and headed into the kitchen. Sam was already up making breakfast.

“Good morning,” the older woman greeted.

“Morning.” Lena went over to the coffee machine and started a batch. She thought back to last night and decided that she was no longer going to take strange smelling things from Maggie.

“We’re thinking of going out tonight, Jess, Maggie, and I. We’re going to use you not being able to get drunk to our advantage and get wasted.” Sam flipped a pancake nonchalantly.

“What about Ruby?”

“Right. I don’t have a babysitter here yet.” Sam frowned.

“How about you three go out and I watch Ruby tonight? When you’re ready to be picked up, just call me.” Lena knew that Sam didn’t have many friends - much like herself - and when she did make friends, she couldn’t go and hang out much because of her daughter. The businesswoman didn’t mind watching Ruby so Sam could have a night out with her newfound friends.

“Are you sure? I just got here and I don’t want to-”

“Sammy.” Lena’s face softened. “You know I love Ruby, I don’t mind. Maybe I could invite Kara so I can finally watch those Disney movies she keeps pestering me to watch.”

“You’re the best, you know that right? If only the news could see this side of you.” Sam flipped another pancake and expertly caught it on a plate.

“No thanks,” Lena scoffed. “It’s bad enough that the video Ruby posted went viral. I don’t need any more people knowing I’m a softie. It’s bad for business.”

“People could at least stop talking shit.” Welp, Lena couldn’t disagree with that. She spotted the notebook she borrowed from Kara and opened it up. There was a design for a self-driving car. Not a bad idea. She turned the page to reveal a sketch of a suit. It was similar to her first one but instead of the tiny spider that acted as a drone was a big, white spider. The web-shooter design was different and so was the color scheme - blue and red instead of black and red. The materials would be kevlar and nanotechnology, no lead. Hmm.

“I’m heading to the lab to start on this. How come I get great ideas when I’m intoxicated?” Lena grabbed a plate and the notebook.

“I don’t know. How come when you’re intoxicated you write in foreign languages?” Lena blushed.

“I don’t know. Maybe to keep other people from reading my work?” When she was drunk, she wrote in Gaelic. When she was high, she wrote in French. English was overrated anyway.

Lena entered the room and found the lab to be even cleaner than when she was last in it. In the corner she has dedicated to all things webs, she found that the vials and tubes were cleaned, cartridges filled, and two web grenades. She really hoped Jess would work in the R&D department.

“Good morning, Hope.” The vigilante checked the number of resources and materials she had.

“Good morning, Boss,” Hope’s cheerful voice answered.

Lena grabbed the materials she would need for her new web-shooters and walked over to her tinkering table. “Would you mind putting in an order for kevlar and…” she went on to list off a whole list of things to stock her lab.

“Right away, Boss.” The lights brightened slightly and Lena knew that was her AI’s way of relaying that she was happy.

She read through the notes again. This set of web-shooters were going to be significantly smaller, almost like bracelets compared to her original bulky shooters. “I’ve been thinking of making another more metallic suit,” she started, “very similar to the Mark II but different, of course. Dr. Octavius’s idea with the arms had me thinking about possibly emulating it in a new suit. However, if I do add these extra “limbs”, so to speak, I would like you to have control over them, Hope.” If Lena was stuck fighting an overwhelming amount of foes, the extra arms would be able to give her some breathing room and with Hope controlling them, she knows she’d be safe.

“You want me to be more connected with your spider suits?” Hope asked.

“Yeah.” Lena trusted Hope with her life and perhaps one day, the AI could use a suit by herself. “I’ll add some upgrades so we can start the process slowly. You  _ are _ my pride and joy you know.” The lights brightened significantly and she knew her partner was ecstatic.

“Thank you, Boss.” Lena smiled and went to work. She and Hope continued to carry a conversation and the CEO found herself absentmindedly stroking the laptop she had created Hope with.

Lena heard the doorbell ring from downstairs and she glanced at the time. How’d it get so late already? The web-shooters finished no problem, but she was adding in commands for web combinations and she may have gotten a little carried away with it. The young woman sighed and exited her lab, closing it behind her. She walked downstairs and was met with a smiling Kara.

“Hey!” They hugged and Lena seemed to realize that she hadn’t changed since breakfast.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The inventor’s face started to heat up. She was in pajama pants that had her spider emblem on it and a black t-shirt. Her hair was thrown in a bun so she could work and thinking about it, her socks were not matching.

Kara’s smile brightened as she took in the outfit. “Have you been in the lab this whole time?” Her teasing smile made Lena flush further.

“I may have lost track of time,” Lena sheepishly admitted. “It was all important work though. Sam made me breakfast and Ruby ate lunch with me, so at least I ate!” She defended quickly.

“Nice pants, Auntie Lena.” Ruby came from the kitchen with a smirk on her face. “Isn’t it weird wearing your-”

“Your friend’s merchandise? Not at all.” Lena sent a meaningful look towards Ruby and she seemed to get the silent message. She nodded and went to the living room to wait. The pants had been a gift from Cat Grant as a joke, probably.

“I bet Spider-Woman likes it when you wear her stuff,” Kara commented but her tone was hard to place.

“Um.” What was she supposed to say? “Are you jealous? Would you rather I wear  _ your _ merchandise instead?” Lena asked in a flirty way with an eyebrow raised. Kara’s heart rate quickened and she started to blush.

  
“I’ll ask Ruby what movie she wants to watch first.” The superhero dashed away and Lena laughed. At least her flirting was obvious now.

Sam called for her and Lena found her in the guest room trying to zip up her dress.

“You look beautiful, Sammy,” Lena complimented.

“Thanks.” Sam was adding some finishing touches to her make-up. “You look,” she glanced at her friend and laughed. “I didn’t think you would’ve actually stayed in those. I’m going to buy you more Spider-Woman stuff.”

“Kara’s going to think I have a crush on her or something.”

Sam quirked an eyebrow but didn’t say anything while she finished getting ready. “The girls are on their way. Make sure Ruby doesn’t stay up past 11. And try to minimize the flirting. If Ruby finds out you like Kara, you’re done for.”

Lena nodded and followed the older woman out of the room. “Like mother, like daughter.” Sam glanced at her phone.

“Thank you for watching her, Lee. I promise Disney movies will make your life better.”

“Of course.” Lena walked her to the door. “Take care of yourself, Sammy. I better not be picking you all up from the precinct.” They hugged and Lena waved at the car that Jess was driving.

Lena walked into the living room to find that Kara and Ruby had made a…. Blanket fort?

“Kara said this was the best way to watch movies,” Ruby’s eyes were twinkling.

“Alex and I used to do this as kids. It might be a tight squeeze, but it’ll be fun,” Kara promised. Between the two, Lena was not able to say no.

“I believe you. What’s first on the list?”

The three huddled into the blanket fort with Lena in the middle. The first movie was Kara’s favorite - Frozen. It made sense, it was about sisters and one of them having powers. It was an interesting concept, but the best part was when Kara started to sing along. As they were putting on the next movie - Cinderella - Lena’s phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and scrunched her eyebrows.

“What’s wrong?”

“The Captain has used his spider. His current location is at a warehouse on the edge of town and it seems as if he has been kidnapped,” Hope reported.

“Shit, okay. I’ll be there soon.” Lena hung up the phone and turned to see that two pairs of eyes were staring at her.

“Is everything okay, Auntie?”

Lena carefully removed herself from the fort and replied, “There’s a work emergency.” She tried to remember where she last left the Mark II. “You guys can continue to watch the movie, it shouldn’t take too long.” Ah! It was in the kitchen on top of the fridge. “I’ll just swing by quickly and see what’s wrong.” She looked at Ruby when she said the last sentence.

“Okay.” The youngest Arias nodded. “Come on, Kara. That means we can eat all the popcorn while she’s away.” When they got back into the fort, Lena went into the kitchen and grabbed her golden spider. She didn’t even bother changing. Once she was out the back door, she pressed the spider on and swung away to the location Hope gave her.

It took about thirty minutes for the whole thing. Once she got there, Spider-Woman had to deal with the guards who had submachine guns. Even though her suit protected her from the bullets, it still hurt. She rescued the captain and found out that they were trying to lure out Supergirl. Upon further inspection, Lena found Kryptonite bullets. She webbed everyone up and told the police officer to find out where the hell they found the substance. The Spider took it to L-Corp so she could hide it for now and destroy it when she didn’t have guests waiting for her at home.

Lena swung through her neighborhood and went in through the kitchen window. She deactivated the suit and put the spider back on top of the fridge after grabbing a snack.

“Sorry about that, it was a false alarm,” she apologized as she slipped into the fort.

“You went to L-Corp like that?” Kara looked at her skeptically. Lena’s palms started to sweat.

“I had something thrown over it.” Her suit. “I do have to go into work tomorrow to deal with something.” Lena was going to buy all the Kryptonite she could find and destroy it all. No way was she going to allow that substance anywhere near Kara.

Kara stared at her for a couple of seconds before relenting. “You haven’t missed much, but so far…”

“What do you mean it’s from Lex’s vault?” Lena was pacing in her office. So much so that she was on the ceiling.

“They said they had gotten a tip-off about a place that could help them get rid of Supergirl once and for all. The description fits the vault your brother has just north of here,” Hope said for about the third time. Lena just could not wrap her brain around that. Was her brother up to something? Was it even her brother? No doubt he knew what was going on, but was it his fault? Was it stupid of her to hope her brother wasn’t up to something nefarious?

“Fuck.” Lena dropped down from the ceiling and continued to pace on the floor. “Hope, call Kara Danvers.”

“Would you two like some privacy?” Hope asked innocently enough as the phone started to ring.

“Cheeky bot,” Lena mused.

“Hey, Lena!” Kara’s cheerful voice greeted. “What’s up?”

“Can Supergirl come to L-Corp please?”

“Course. She’ll be there in a second.” The call ended and five seconds later, the Girl of Steel was on her balcony. “Is everything alright?”

Lena shook her head. “Last night, Spider-Woman found some criminals with Kryptonite. She collected it all and brought it to me, it’s in that box over there-” she pointed to the lead box against the wall- “and it seems that they got it from one of my brother’s vaults.”

“Like the one Lillian took you to.”

“Yeah.” Lena wrung her hands. “I’m not too certain if my brother is involved in this yet or not. That being said, I want to speak to him. I understand if you don’t wish to see him, but I could honestly use my best friend there with me.”

Kara’s face remained stoic as she considered the offer. “Why don’t you ask Spider-Woman to go with you?”

Lena contemplated her answer. How much was she willing to say? “My brother wants to murder the Spider…” Kara made a face like,  _ oh really? Join the club. _ “It’s personal,” she tried to amend.

“It’s personal? Does he know who she is? Does it have something to do with the two of you knowing each other?” Lena shook her head.

“Lex genetically modified a spider to give himself superpowers. He was arrested before he got to test it. Somehow, the spider ended up biting Spidey. Lex thinks she stole it, Mother thinks she’s a villain, and she just wants to try and find out all she can about it. That’s another reason I need to talk to him. I need answers.”

Kara took a deep breath. “Okay. Yeah, sure. I’ll go. There’s no way I’m going to let you go alone.” Supergirl hugged the Luthor tightly.

“Thank you, Kara.”

Lena left all of her spider things in the office - her suit and her web-shooters she never took off. Then, she clung onto Kara tightly as she flew them to Lex’s prison. The vigilante wasn’t scared of heights anymore because she could easily cling onto the building or use her webs if it was an emergency, but that was useless if she was falling from the sky. She trusted Kara to not let her go, but the anxiety grew in her regardless. Spiders weren’t meant to fly.

“We’re here,” Supergirl whispered in Lena’s ear as they settled onto the ground. Shakily, Lena stood up. Her spider-sense prickled as if even the spider in her was annoyed with being in the air.

“Let’s go.” Lena hadn’t seen her brother since that day in court, nearly two years ago. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to see him now.

Lex was sitting at a table, no cuffs or restraints in sight, drinking tea. He looked up and for a brief second, he seemed surprised. “You’re not Mother.”

“Obviously.” Lena took the seat across from her brother while Supergirl stood behind her protectively.

“I see you’ve brought your attack dog with you.” Lex’s smile was cold as he regarded the Super. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Supergirl. I’m surprised you don’t have your other attack dog with you. Spider-Woman was it?”

“Someone has been breaking into your vaults,” Lena decided to ignore him. “Unless you’ve somehow managed to sneak out of here.”

“I don’t know how that woman was able to break into the Metropolis one. All of my places are secured and can only be opened with the blood of a Luthor, you know this.”

“Even the one in San Francisco?”

“I did just say all of them. Seriously, are you deaf?” His annoyance was clear as day. “Wait, why are you asking about that one specifically?”

“Oh, you don’t know?” Lena’s voice was light. Teasing. “It was broken into yesterday.” His heart fluttered and his eyes hardened.

Lex stood up and walked over to the window, his fists clenched. “Whoever is doing this is dangerous. If you don’t kill the Spider, then I will. My research in the wrong hands could be catastrophic.”

Supergirl scoffed, “Funny of you to say that.”

“I was trying to get rid of you Kryptonians, not wipe out the human race! I have a lot of research on viruses and genetic mutations. It won’t take a genius to manipulate my work and use it to try and take over the world.” Lena sensed Kara wanted to retort with something else, so she stepped in.

“Mother told me that you had people working on the project with you. The only one still alive is someone named Dr. Connors. What can you tell me about him?”

Lex rolled his eyes and sat down again. “He was a nobody. I hardly allowed him in the lab. He did the blood work and would do all the research but nothing practical. I know who did this, it’s the wretched spider you’re working with.”

Lena huffed in annoyance. For being a psychotic murderer, he sure was immature at times. “It wasn’t her, that I swear on my life. I have her movements monitored at all times after Lillian told me the truth. If she were to betray me, I won’t hesitate to end her where she stands,” she put as much conviction in her voice as she could. She felt Kara tense behind her. This was a mess.

Lex laughed. “And you try to deny your Luthor genes.” A happy Lex was a more willing to help Lex.

“You said that Dr. Connors did blood work. On the spider? Or on you?” Lena narrowed her eyes.

“The spider, of course. We went through at least ten different ones. Although, he did draw my blood once or twice so we could try and have the spider’s DNA match with mine. That way, the process would be easier. Hypothetically.”

“What are the odds he kept some of the blood and he’s the one opening the vaults with it?” Lena connected the dots aloud. That would make perfect sense and it would explain why she couldn’t find him.

“That sneaky bastard. The others were assassinated, but he probably knew I was going to come after him so he fled with it. That still doesn’t explain the spider, though.” Lex looked at his sister expectantly.

“You murdered the people you were working with?” Supergirl sounded affronted.

“Well, duh.” Lex smiled as he shrugged. Lena ignored them.

Dr. Connors probably took the spider with him when he fled Metropolis. Hid it in the one in National City. But why wouldn’t he have used it on himself? Unless he couldn’t? Perhaps the spider needed someone with similar DNA to Lex’s. That’s why she was bit. But how would Dr. Connor’s have known that Lillian was going to kidnap Lena and bring her there? Was it his plan? Chance? Fate?

“He’s probably in cahoots with her,” she decided. Best to throw her brother off the scent. “A girlfriend or something. However, she must have seen what he was doing and went rogue, I don’t know. We don’t discuss our private lives with each other,” she said dismissively. That gave Lex the wrong idea.

“Oh, I see it now Lena. You’re sleeping with her.” Lex’s smile grew and Kara choked on air. “That’s how you were able to plant her with a tracking device, right? I suggest you use your advantage over her to find this son of a bitch.”

Lena forced her face to remain neutral. She could hear Kara’s heart beating at a frantic pace. Maybe it was a bad idea to bring her along. “Are you suggesting a team-up?” She decided to ignore her brother’s question.

Lex leaned back in his chair and looked at the two thoughtfully. “I suppose I am. I can’t do much from prison, can I? I want that bastard out of my vaults and you want him to not destroy the world. It’s a win-win.”

“You just said you can’t do much from prison. So how are you supposed to help us?” Supergirl crossed her arms to look more intimidating.

“I have resources and information.” Lena was sure he had ulterior motives, but she didn’t care at the moment. She’d keep an eye on Lex.

“We’ll be in contact.” Lena stood up and headed towards the door, Supergirl following. She hesitated in the doorway. “I have missed you, Lex. It was good seeing you again.” Lex gave her a sad smile and she walked away before he could say anything.

“Would you kill Spider-Woman if it came down to it?” Supergirl asked once they were in the air.

“No. I said what I needed to say so Lex would believe I was on his side. I would never betray my friends like that, you know that. After all, I’ve been through, I couldn’t do that to someone else.” Yet, Lena still hasn’t told Kara that she was Spider-Woman.

“I believe you.” The rest of the flight was in silence.

**A Spider and A Luthor?**

**Forbidden Love: Supergirl and Lena Luthor?**

**Lena Luthor and the two heroes of National City, what is their relationship with each other?**

Lena sighed heavily and rubbed her temples at the upcoming migraine. A couple of days ago, she had the Spider-Woman suit take a picture with her. It was a tactical move on her part. As far as she knew, no one suspected Lena Luthor was Spider-Woman and she wanted to keep it that way, so she took the stupid picture. Then, on her alter ego’s twitter, she posted it with the caption of “Did you know she makes my gear?”. The only reason she did that was that people kept spotting the Spider near L-Corp, hence the first article title. It was supposed to throw them off her trail, not encourage the media. So, of course, there were more pictures of Spider-Woman leaving L-Corp. Jess was doing her best to work as an alibi for Lena, which the latter was extremely thankful for. With all the extra attention on the building, of course, pictures of Supergirl were captured as well.

Lena had to install new panels on her windows so she could look out but no one could look in. It was annoying but a small price to pay. Kara was oblivious to the attention Lena was getting so she would pop by as Supergirl to check on her occasionally. Of course, it happened only at night, which fuelled the rumors further. Now that Kara’s alter ego had a twitter, she wanted to post a picture with Lena just as Spider-Woman had. So now the internet was speculating on which of the two heroes Lena was sleeping with or if she was with both of them at the same time. There was one picture with Spider-Woman and Supergirl together, but none of the three together made people think she was with the two of them separately. This was such a mess.

Sam and Maggie found it hilarious and teased her endlessly about it. Jess felt sorry for her boss. Cat also found it very amusing and tried to make Kara write an article about it but the superhero kept refusing. Ruby was amused and told her that Lena should go on twitter and address it. Kara was a flustered mess and decided to ignore it every time it was brought up around her. Lena always thought any PR was good PR, but now she wasn’t so sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know: This one guy got spiders high because he wanted them to make webs at a different time or smth. Then NASA put a bunch of spiders on different drugs. Look it up, the webs are so cool to look at depending on what drug they are on haha.
> 
> I'm thinking of following season 3. I have a super bare-boned outline and some of the season 3 stuff helps with my plot. Sam will not be Reign. She is 100% human. However, having someone else be Reign is cool with me, she was a super interesting villain and because of her, we met Brainy and I love him so idk. I don't really want Mon-El in the story (not that he was ever really in it) but I do want Brainy and the time travel thing but ehhhhh. You see my problem? Advice would be useful xD


	10. Crisis! on Earth X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That one crossover. Strap yourselves in it's over 10k words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter. Thought abt cutting it into two parts but I yoloed since it's been a week. I love Lena and Sara, can you tell? ;)

The past week had been hectic in Lena’s opinion. The city was still rebuilding after the Daxamite invasion and Lena was doing her best to help with the effort as both herself and her alter ego. The CEO opened up her hospital as a refuge for people whose houses have been destroyed, donated $200 million for the efforts (since most of the buildings were getting upgrades and reinforced with stronger materials), and had one of the restaurants she owned used as a soup kitchen. As Spider-Woman, she continued to help with the heavy lifting and boosting the morale of the city. In total, she’d probably been in the office for a total of 30 hours the whole week and that was only because she had mandatory meetings.

Right by her side almost the whole week was Supergirl. Kara was working non-stop with the heavy lifting as well and stopping the robberies. Lena understood that the alien might not have needed as much sleep as a human might, but she was worried about her friend. It was almost like Kara was throwing herself (quite literally) into her work as a superhero and neglected her human side. As if fate was tempting her, Lena saw Kara sitting atop what they dubbed “their” building. It was between L-Corp and CatCo so it was a good meeting place and it was tall enough to peer down at the city below them.

“Hey, I was just thinking about you,” Spider-Woman greeted as she swung onto the roof.

Supergirl gave her a tired smile and a half-hearted, “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m worried about you. Supergirl has been busy. Seemingly  _ too _ busy.” The woman sat down and had Hope activate the heat warmer, it was a chilly night.

“You sound like my sister.” Supergirl had a wry smile. “Is it so bad I want to help the city out?”

“Not at all.” Lena reached for Kara’s hand as if it were second nature (and by now, it pretty much was). “But you know I’m helping out too. You could use some rest.” Upon further inspection, Lena noticed Kara’s eyes were muted. There was no joy, no spark. None of that happiness she had an endless supply of.

“I can’t sleep.” Supergirl took a deep breath and looked at Spider-Woman unsurely before deciding to continue with her train of thought. “I have dreams about him. We’re in a field and we’re happy. I feel warm. Safe. He was my first love, you know?” Lena allowed Kara to talk about Mon-El even though it pained her heart to hear the affection in her voice.

“I’m sorry that he had to leave, Kara.” Supergirl looked up. When they were in costume, Lena never called her by her name because of people who may be eavesdropping, but she felt like now was an appropriate time to do so. “He was your first love and I know how much that hurts,” an image of Andrea flashed through her mind, “but life will get better. Hopefully, someone will come along and make you forget all about him. If you ask me, he was an asshole. I didn’t like him at all,” she admitted.

“He was a bit of a jerk,” the Super muttered. “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. I literally shot him into space. My cousin, Superman, told me that he wouldn’t have made that same decision. He wouldn’t have sent his girlfriend to space even if it meant saving his city. So what does that make me? I’m an alien, first and foremost. I shouldn’t have tried to hide behind Kara Danvers. I’m nothing like a human. I’m a monster.” Her voice started to quiver at the end and Lena’s heart ached more so.

“I’m the real monster, Kara.” Lena took her hand away from her friend and stood up. Her heart was racing now and her hands shook at what she was going to do. “Hope, the cameras, please.”

“Right away, Boss.” Supergirl was staring at Spider-Woman dumbly. Lena’s hands were shaking and her palms were sweating.

“I should’ve told you a long time ago. Perhaps when I learned your secret identity. I don’t have a concrete reason for not telling you who I am besides I was just nervous, I guess?” Lena clenched her fists. Taking a deep breath, she moved her hands to the bottom of the mask and pulled up. “I practically killed Jack in cold blood. I loved him so much - he was my best friend for years. Instead of trying to find another way, I just killed him.”

“Lena?” Supergirl hovered over to the unmasked woman. So many emotions were flickering through the alien’s face and Lena chose to ignore it and stare at the mask in her hands. “You killed him to save me.” She gently reached for the shorter woman’s face and made eye contact. “There’s nothing you could have done. You couldn’t have saved him.”

The vigilante laughed bitterly and said, “Exactly. We had impossible situations and we chose the people as a whole over the people we love. If killing Jack doesn’t make me a monster, sending Mon-El away doesn’t make you one either.” She saw Kara’s resolve melt and her hands dropped.

“I hate that you used logic on me.” Kara pouted but her eyes were soft and a bit wet. “You could never be a monster, Lee.”

Lena pulled the mask back over her face because she felt too exposed. But she had Hope drop the voice modulator so she could still talk to her friend as herself. “Are you upset that I didn’t tell you?” She walked back to the spot on the edge of the building so she could look at the city. It felt way less claustrophobic here where she could jump off the building if need be.

“A little,” Kara shrugged. “But I don’t blame you.” Lena’s tense shoulders dropped. She hadn’t even realized how much she needed to know they were still okay. “Who else knows?”

“Sam was there with me when we were figuring out what the hell was happening with me. Then I told Jess after Sam convinced me to go into the vigilante business. Maggie found out after the Mysterio incident. I was in a spider coma thing, that’s why you couldn’t visit. It’d be hard to explain why I was on the ceiling in a web cocoon. Don’t ask. Ruby knows because she read our group chat and Cat knows because well, she’s Cat.” The Kryptonian laughed and it was music to Lena’s ears.

“You’re right about Cat. You guys have a group chat?”

“Yeah. Maggie named it Spider Friends but Ruby changed it to Spider Squad once we finally added her to it.” The youngest Arias kept reading the messages off of her mother’s phone so they agreed to add her. They tried to keep the conversation PG-rated but Maggie was in it and Lena cursed like a sailor. But they did continue to try to keep the explicit conversation out of it. Mostly.

“Winn named our group chat Super Friends. He’s pretty much the only one who uses it.” Lena noticed the light in her friend’s eye slowly coming to life.

“Maggie, Sam, and Jess have a group chat called Holy Trinity where they talk shit about me, I’m sure.” She rolled her eyes playfully even though the alien couldn’t see the action. “I can add you to mine now since you know. Who knows about you?”

“Alex knows because she had to deal with me growing up. James knows because Superman told him. I told Winn. Maggie figured it out. And Cat, obviously.” Kara tilted her head with a thoughtful expression. “And probably the whole DEO.” Lena laughed at that. 

“I guess our common denominator is Maggie, then.” She knew who Supergirl was and tweeted that stupid SuperSpiderCorp, Lena realized. She sighed. The detective was going to get what was coming to her one day. Kara must have had similar thoughts because her face mirrored what Lena was sure hers looked like.

“I still have so many questions…” They talked up on the roof until the sun started to peek out over the city. With the light of a new day came the light that was missing in Kara’s eyes.

“I told them I’d be gone for a couple of days for the wedding, right? And then I realized I didn’t actually know where we were going,” Lena said as she entered Kara’s apartment. She had a suit, a change of clothes, and cash in her suitcase. “I also have no idea who’s wedding we’re going to. Barry, you said?”

Kara smiled and closed the door. “Hello to you too,” she teased. “Everything will be answered in due time.” Ever since their identities were no longer secret to each other, the taunting and teasing continued even when they weren’t in costume. Speaking of costumes, Kara had her suit on.

“Are you sure you’re okay going to a wedding? I know Mon-El is still fresh for you.” Lena rested a hand on Kara’s shoulder and offered a smile.

“Barry is a really good friend of mine, I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Plus, I’ve never been to one before and I need to know what to do for Alex and Maggies.” Kara sat down on the barstool and looked to her friend. “It’s stupid waiting for him to come back, I know. I just. A small part of me hopes. Maybe this getaway will help me move on?” Lena shrugged. “Anyway. Are you ready? We’re going to fly there if you don’t mind.”

Lena discreetly tapped her pocket to check if her golden spider was there. Yes, it was a wedding, but one could never be too careful! “I still prefer swinging,” she mumbled but nodded. It took a second to get themselves in a comfortable position with the luggage and that was enough time for Lena to get antsy. She hated flying. Had she mentioned that before?

Supergirl grabbed some sort of device from the kitchen counter before looking at Lena and smirking. “Your mind is about to be blown.” She pushed the button and a blueish portal looking thing opened up in front of them. Lena’s hairs stood up and before she could debate, Kara flew straight through it.

Lena wasn’t sure what she was expecting to see when they flew out. An alien planet was on the top of her list of guesses. A city that kind of looked like the place she visited in Missouri once wasn’t even on the list. Supergirl flew until they arrived at an ordinary house. Carefully, they untangled themselves and the younger woman felt like vomiting.

“My spider-sense is trying to kill me, I think.” Her whole body was practically vibrating and yeah, she wanted to throw up.

“Aww, you call it your spider-sense!” Supergirl cooed.

Lena tumbled into her friend. “Shut up. It hates whatever the fuck that was. Where are we anyway? What was that? I could’ve had one of my jets fly us here so we could’ve avoided that.” The taller woman took pity on her friend and started rubbing soothing circles on her back.

Before any questions could be answered, the door swung open and a tall man with big brown eyes opened the door. “Kara! Oh, is she okay?” He rushed over and helped the Kryptonian with Lena.

“I think she’ll be fine. She’s never been through the portal before.” They guided her to the couch and Barry offered her a glass of water.

“Kara!” A new voice greeted. Lena was a bit confused. Okay, she was really confused. How did all these people know her? She was still in her super suit, after all.

“Hey Barry, Iris. It’s so nice seeing you guys again!” She saw them hug. “This is my friend, Lena Luthor.” Lena offered her hand and was a bit surprised that they didn’t bat an eyelash at her last name.

“I’m Barry Allen and this is my soon-to-be wife Iris West.”

“You’re the guy from Kara’s Twitter!” She realized. Her body had calmed down significantly, which she was grateful for.

“You have a Twitter?” Another person asked. She had Kara exchanged a hug.

“Long story. But, yeah, that’s him. This is Caitlin Snow. Caitlin, this is my friend Lena Luthor.” She actually smiled as she shook Lena’s hand.

“Not to sound self-centered or anything, but you guys don’t know who I am?” She questioned to Kara.

“Right.” Kara’s smile was mischievous. “That’s because we’re on Earth-1. There is no Superman, no Supergirl, and no LuthorCorp.” The people stared at her but Lena was still trying to wrap her mind around what she just said.

“What do you mean we’re on “Earth-1”? As if there is more than one Earth?” She looked at everyone’s amused faces.

“You brought your friend to a new Earth without telling her that we’re in a whole other world?” Barry laughed and his friends joined in.

“Wait. You guys are serious. Does that mean that the multiverse theory is true?” Lena forgot all about her sickness and sat straight up, completely excited with this newfound discovery.

“Completely true. Try to imagine a bunch of different Earths. Here.” Barry grabbed a couple of beers that were on the table and clumped them together. “So imagine that these are Earths, right? They are all in the same area but they vibrate at a different frequency so they can’t see one another.”

Lena looked at the table and imagined the beers vibrating. “But if you were somehow fast enough, you could see the other Earths and theoretically travel to them because of the speed, correct? Somehow you’ve found a way to accomplish that and harness it into a small device.” She stood up and started pacing. “Whichever one of you is fast enough to do this must also be fast enough for time travel, right? Probably did it by accident and tried it again before realizing that changing the timeline could have astronomical changes. Which one of you is fast enough to do this?” Iris mutely pointed to Barry. “That’s amazing. How is it possible? You’re a metahuman?” She stopped in front of him with complete awe in her eyes.

Caitlin started clapping and Kara had a proud, smug look on her face.

“There was this particle accelerator that exploded and I happened to get struck by lightning at the right time. I’m the fastest man alive and on this Earth, people know me as the Flash.”

Lena sat down, her head still swimming with information. “Oh, so you get struck by lightning but I get bit by a spider?” She shook her head. “I’m assuming you have a base of operations? No way would you have been able to make that portal opener without one. What kind of technology is on this Earth? I’m having trouble with a design with my suit and maybe a fresh pair of eyes could help me.” She realized she was rambling, but this was the coolest thing that has ever happened to her. She could’ve married Kara right then and there.

“That’s why I waited to tell her. Figured you guys are the geniuses and could answer the questions way better than I could’ve,” she heard the blonde joke.

“Cisco is at the lab with Wells. I need to pick something up before we meet up, I could introduce the two,” Caitlin said.

Barry smiled and nodded. “She’ll show you our lab. You are going to be blown away.” He emphasized with mimicking an explosion with his hands. He even did a sound effect.

“I figured you’d get swept away with the nerds,” Kara chatted. “They’re the smartest people I know besides you and Winn. They’ve been in the superhero business for a while, so if you have any questions, they could answer them.” Lena cringed slightly from the word “superhero”. She wasn’t a hero, she was a vigilante. A person who didn’t follow the law to fight crime. Sure she saved people on the daily and even stopped the world from ending but nope. Not a hero. 

Lena talked and got to know the group a little bit. They all seemed like good people and she could tell Barry really loved Iris. Lena’s phone didn’t work (as predicted) so she left a small spider tracker at the house and activated it. It was a new invention she and Hope had been working on so that Lena could track it with her spider-sense. The science was super precise but it was worth all the hours she spent in the lab. She wondered if she could find a way for Hope to work.

“ Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratory - or Star Labs - is practically our second home. We have a training room, a lab, a medical room that Barry frequents, and the main part where we monitor crime and such,” Caitlin started when they entered the car. “I think I am there more than I’m at my own apartment.”

“I imagine that you are all close, though.”

“Yeah. They’re my family. It’s hard to hate them when you spend all of your time with them.” Her smile was fond.

“Do any of you work then?” Lena raised an eyebrow.

“Barry is CSI and Iris is a journalist. Joe, Iris’s dad who you’ll meet later, is a cop. The rest of us watch over the place and try to stay on top of our enemies. Wells is trying to convert a part of the lab as a museum, though. What about you? What is it that you do?”

“I’m a genius philanthropist who runs a multi-billion company. It sounds like an achievement until I tell you that my brother, who previously owned the company, murdered hundreds of people trying to kill Kara’s cousin. I inherited the company and am doing my best to turn it around but well, bad press, you know?” Lena was proud of her achievements, sure, but none of her things were recognized. The board members weren’t shy about whispering behind her back on how the company was only hers because of Lex’s actions. She hasn’t invented anything life-changing to make the world a better place. She hasn’t cured cancer. She hasn’t done anything useful at all.

Caitlin hummed to stall for a response. “Well, you must be doing something right if the company is still running, right? And I’m assuming you moonlight as a hero?” There was that word again. Hero.

“I’m a vigilante known as Spider-Woman. I’ll give you three guesses on what my powers are.” Lena raised her eyebrow again and this time the other woman laughed.

“Spider powers? I don’t know, spider-powers seem cooler than running really fast.” They both laughed and Lena found herself relaxing. The rest of the drive conversation flowed easily. They mostly compared notes on their home planets and talked about their love for science.

“Hello?” Caitlin called into the main room. Lena spotted a suit on a mannequin and walked over to it. With the lightning bolt on the chest, she had to assume this was the Flash suit. The design was simple but cool and the material was obviously made so that it was flame retardant for his speed. Perhaps Lena should make her new suit fire-resistant. She made a note of that.

“Caitlin!” A young man with shoulder hair length walked in and hugged the woman. “And who’s this?”

“This is Lena Luthor, Kara’s friend from Earth-38. Lena, this is Cisco Ramon. He’s the mastermind behind the suit and the dimension hopper,” she explained.

The raven-haired woman shook his hand enthusiastically. “It’s nice to meet you, I’ve got so many questions. But first, I was hoping if we could somehow find a way to link my AI to this world? I use her in my suit and it’ll be a great way to figure out how in the hell you made the dimension hopper as Caitlin called it.”

“You’re a hero too!” The next time someone called her that, she was going to scream. “Do you have your suit? Oh, I want to see it. What are your powers?”

Caitlin was standing off to the side very amused. Another man was next to her that Lena hadn’t noticed. He tipped his hat and introduced himself as “Harison Wells from Earth-2”.

Lena pulled out the golden spider from her pocket. “I hope you are ready to be blown away.” She wasn’t one to brag but she was in the same room as awesome inventors just as herself and everything was super exciting. She placed the spider to her chest and the suit started to envelop her.

“Oh hell yes!” Cisco pumped his fist into the air and cheered. “That is the coolest shiz ever. Is it nanotechnology? Woah, okay.” Spider-Woman opened her arms and turned in a slow circle. “Spider. You have spider-powers?”

“Yup.” The voice modulator still worked. It seemed as if her suit was still functioning. Sweet. “My first suit is a bit cooler in appearance. I made this one so my friends would get off my back about being shot.”

Cisco and Caitlin laughed. “It is hard work removing bullets from bodies,” the latter chortled. “So what are your powers?”

Lena jumped and flipped in the air so she was standing on the ceiling. “My senses have been enhanced, super strength, I’m sticky, and I heal faster than normal. I also have this sixth sense thing that I call my spider-sense and it alerts me to danger. I can shoot webs but I prefer to use my synthetic ones.” She shot at the ceiling and started to lower herself towards the ground with the web. She stopped until she was hanging upside down in front of Cisco.

“Is it bad that I run to run tests on you?” Caitlin asked. “I really want to, but the girls are expecting me soon. Remember about the ceremony!” She grabbed what she needed and headed out.

“What was this about artificial intelligence?” Cisco’s grin was huge and Lena knew they were going to get along great.

Lena was overwhelmed by the number of people. She met Joe and his son Wally. Then she met Oliver Queen and his girlfriend Felicity Smoak.

“So you’re Felicity.” Lena smiled as they shook hands. “Cisco has told me all about you.”

“I’m sure all the boring, geeky things right?”

“Well, yes, but I don’t think it’s boring. You see…” After a few seconds, Oliver found it in his best interest to walk away from the nerd talk.

After their conversation, Lena found the bar that was thankfully open. Now that she was alone, she got lost in her thoughts. Kara was still hung up on Mon-El, which Lena totally understood. It had been about a month since he had to flee. Did Lena even have a chance? She loved her best friend more so than she would ever admit out loud but she would never put their friendship in jeopardy.

“Need a beer?” Some burly man offered her a bottle and she took it.

“Thanks.” She popped the cap and started to chug it down. Not even a buzz. He handed her another one.

“My name’s Mick. You’re one hell of a drinker.”

Lena downed that bottle and chuckled. “Guess you could say that.” He was about to say something but something caught his attention. He grunted and walked away. She shrugged and poured another shot.

“Somebody who drinks like that is looking to make something go away.” Lena looked at the person who was walking towards her. She was short, blonde, and had startling blue eyes. Her eyes were electric like a storm and hard, unlike Kara’s soft sky-blue ones.

“Yeah, well,” the younger woman cleared her throat. “And what are you looking to make go away?” She asked when the stranger poured her own shot and downed it.

“Nothing. I just like the taste of scotch.”

Lena nodded and smiled, “Fair enough.”

The short woman leaned in. “So what’s your damage?”

Lena debated on what she should say. “The person I like is still hung up on their ex. The break up was super sudden and they’re not over it.”

Stranger poured another shot. “That’s rough, I know what that’s like.”

“Yeah. Am I a bad person for hoping she’ll get over it soon?” There’s that buzz. The bottle was almost empty so her new friend grabbed another bottle.

“She?” Sara’s whole demeanor seemed to shift and she had a sly smile on her face. “Mine was a she too,” she winked.

“Oh.”

The girl filled their glasses. “To making things go away.”

Their glasses clinked. “And loving the taste of scotch,” Lena added.

Maybe she shouldn’t be taking so many shots with someone who was obviously flirting with her. But she needed a distraction and boy was she a welcomed distraction. They linked arms and took a shot. As Lena looked up, she noticed Kara and Barry looking at her. She winked and giggled. She was definitely tipsy now.

Somehow, they ended up outside making out like teenagers at prom while Joe was delivering his probably heartfelt speech. Right at this second though, Lena didn’t care. She was out of it and was being distracted from thinking about her crush on her best friend. So when the girl who’s name she couldn’t remember asked if she wanted to go back to her hotel room, Lena said yes.

Lena stirred a bit from her sleep. The bed was so comfortable and she felt so warm, it was delicious. When an arm wrapped itself around her though, her heart spiked and her body tensed. She chanced a glance behind her and saw the blonde woman from last night. So it wasn’t a dream.

“Fuck,” she whispered to herself.

As carefully as she could, the vigilante moved the woman’s hand off of her. She activated her web-shooter bracelet, that somehow stayed on during their activities, and shot a web straight up. Carefully, she pulled herself up and stuck onto the ceiling. She scanned the room for her clothes and webbed them to her so she didn’t make any sound on the ground. After making sure she had her phone, spider, and all the webs in her hand, she opened the window. Thankfully they were only on the second story so it wasn’t that far of a drop. She took one last glance at the sleeping figure and slipped out of the room. Oh God, what was Kara going to think?

Lena followed her spider-sense to where she left the tracker and found the house. Hesitantly she knocked on the door and prayed someone was still here.

The door swung open and Felicity opened the door. “There you are! Everyone’s already left but I forgot my phone.” Lena shuffled inside and went to her suitcase. “You do realize Cisco told me your phone works here, right? Why didn’t you call anybody? How’d you even find this place?”

“Er, uh.” Lena felt like she was caught sneaking out of boarding school again. “New Earth, you know? Thought I would see the sights. I planted a tracker in case I got lost. Thank God I’m smart.” Lena grabbed her suit and the tracker.

“Right, “see the sights”. If that’s what you want to call it.” Felicity took in Lena’s appearance and it wasn’t hard to piece it together. “The bathroom is down that hall, on the left. You can shower, I’ll wait for you.”

The Luthor looked at her gratefully. “Everyone on this Earth is so nice. I promise I won’t be more than 20 minutes.” She then dashed into the bathroom.

18 minutes later, Lena was in the passenger seat of Felicity’s car. She felt a bit embarrassed but she also felt so good. The tenseness she had been feeling all month seemed to disappear and she felt in a better mood. When was the last time she got laid? An image of Sam pinning her against the wall crossed her mind. It had been a while.

Felicity dropped her off while she went to look for parking. Lena held her breath as she approached Kara who seemed extremely worried. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. Where have you been? Why didn’t you come back to Joe’s?”

“I was out.” Lena was embarrassed. She hoped that she wouldn’t run into Sara any time soon. What would Kara think? Would she hate her?

“Out?” Kara mocked disbelieving. “Out doing what?”

“I was exploring.” For being the CEO of a company, her lying absolutely sucked when it came to Kara.

Kara shook her head and the worry was starting to ebb away. “Well, you had me so worried. You can’t just disappear on another Earth,” she exasperated. “I had half a mind to fly around the city to look for you.”

“I didn’t do anything bad!” Lena declared. She did feel bad about disappearing on her friend, though.

“Okay.” Kara looked over Lena’s shoulder at Sara. “Hey.”

“Hey, Kara,” The person from last night easily greeted. She turned to Lena. “Lena?” She asked unsurely but with a shit-eating smile on her face.

“Right. Yeah? S..” Lena trailed off. Her name started with an S, that was for sure. She couldn’t remember much past that.

“Sara,” she supplied.

“Right, I knew that. Sara. It’s a lovely day, isn’t it? It’s such a perfect day for a wedding. How are you doing?” It must be the new Earth that was making her act like this. That and the fact that she was desperately, desperately embarrassed about the whole situation.

“I’m good. A little hungover, but I’ll survive. How are you? You just snuck right out and I didn’t hear a thing.” Lena could tell Sara was being casual about it and didn’t mean to expose her, but well. Kara wasn’t that oblivious.

“I’m good, too. What can I say? I’m quiet as a mouse,” she tried to joke.

Sara smiled widely with mischievous eyes. “Last night you weren’t,” she winked. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys inside.” She patted the vigilante’s back and walked inside.

“You…” Kara’s eyes widened and were full of mirth as she looked at her friend.

“It was not what it sounded like!” Lena tried to defend herself.

“...didn’t,” she finished as if she didn’t hear her.

“I did. I did,” the shorter woman confessed. “Like four.. five.. Six times.” She covered her face to try and hide the blush. Last night was the most flexible, acrobatic sex she’d ever had in her life. “I had a one-night stand,” she admitted aloud.

“You did.” Kara’s face was full on teasing now though there was something else in her expression. Something Lena couldn’t place.

“Kara, it’s horrible. I’m terrible! It’s such a guy thing to do. I am a horrible, terrible guy.” She had sex to forget about the feelings she had for the person she was currently talking to.

The Kryptonian was not going to let her forget this. “No, you’re a healthy, single lady. And you just had a really great time at a wedding, there’s nothing wrong with that. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Yet, Kara’s heart was beating in a funny, unfamiliar rhythm.

(So what Lena knew how to read Kara’s heartbeat? A skip in her resting heart rate meant she was particularly happy about something. It would beat two beats slower if she was upset. Two beats faster if she was angry. A flutter if she was lying. Beyond that, she was clueless to the other emotions her heart was conveying lately)

“I didn’t?” So Kara wasn’t mad?

“No. And Sara’s awesome. Except for the fact that she’s an assassin.”

Lena’s heart skipped a beat. “She’s an assassin?” That explained the flexibility. “I guess I’m into girls who are strong, powerful, blonde and have blue eyes,” she winked at Kara to try and even out the playing field again. If the blush on Kara’s face was any indication, it worked. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

They sat in the front and had idle chatter. Sara sat behind them and Kara was about to tease her about it, but Lena raised a perfect eyebrow and smirked, something she knew her friend faltered at every time, so she stayed quiet. Wells sat next to her and she listened intently while he talked about the novel he was working on about his adventures in the multiverse.

Kara grabbed her arm mid-sentence. “That’s my cue.” She then winked and went on the little stage area where a microphone was set up. Was she going to sing?

Turned out Kara could sing. And she could sing well. Lena would’ve swooned right then and there if they weren’t in public. Perhaps one day Kara would try and serenade her.

Everyone stood as Iris made her way down the aisle. Lena didn’t even know her that well, but she was happy for her nevertheless. As the priest was talking, Lena couldn’t help but glance at her friend. Would they one day get married if she confessed her feelings? Or would everything go to shit? It was quiet until a laser beam incinerated the priest on the spot.

“Peace is overrated,” said a flying figure. Everyone turned to look and gasped at the sight. There were about two dozen men with rifles pointed at the guests.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Irish fumed.

“Nazis?” Oliver questioned.

Lena noticed the men had a swastica type of patch on their arm.

“I hate Nazis,” Barry, Oliver, and Kara muttered at the same time.

The Nazis opened fired and Barry ran to catch some bullets. Lena was momentarily shocked at the speed. Then, before her eyes, a young man and an older looking man grasped each other's hand and transformed into one person on fire.

As the people were trying to evacuate, Lena finally got to her senses and stood up. Sara, who was behind her, stood up as well and ripped a part of her dress to join in on the fight. Lena threw off her suit jacket and put on her spider suit. Someone with ice powers was shooting the Nazis before someone with a flame gun joined them. It wasn’t that surprising that the heroes brought their weapons.

Lena and Sara were on a side of the church covering people who were still trying to evacuate. Since she was in the Mark II, Lena made sure to take as many bullets as she could even though it still hurt like hell.

“One wedding, two funerals,” a man different from the other Nazis stated.

“Wanna fight?” Sara pulled a lantern thing and started swinging it around. While she took on that man, Lena focused on the other Nazis.

As she was webbing them up, she noticed that the heroes were actually killing these Nazis. She didn’t think much of it when Sara killed them, but seeing other people kill was a bit shocking. Lena could kill when needed but she wasn’t like that. She didn’t have a moral code, but she wasn’t a fan of playing judge and jury. But...these were Nazis. Did they deserve to live? The Nazi with the special mask lunged towards Sara with his swords but Lena made it there first. She caught both swords, twisted, and webbed the person up tightly.

“Nice,” Sara complimented.

“Yeah.” Lena’s head was still reeling with her moral fight. Her new friend offered a hand in the air and they high-five.

There was still a bit of fighting. Lena was about to hop into the fray until Kara clapped her hands. The sound irritated Lena’s sensitive ears and left them ringing. When she looked up, the Nazis were retreating.

“Let’s get back to base so we can talk about what the fuck just happened,” Oliver’s booming voice announced.

“I second that,” Barry piped up.

To think she almost didn’t bring the suit.

“You wiped the minds of the guests at the wedding?” Oliver asked Rory when he walked into the room.

“Yep. Everyone’s secret identity remains secret.” Woah, they had something like that? This Earth was getting cooler and cooler (minus the Nazis of course).

“Any idea where they fled?” Barry asked.

Kara shook her head. “No. I flew over the entire city, there’s no trace of them.”

“Well, clearly they attacked because you all were there.” Iris pouted. This was supposed to be the best day of her life and her wedding was crashed by literal, actual, Nazis. What were the chances of that happening?

“Killers, heroes, then what?” Barry sounded frustrated.

Kara crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows. “That woman didn’t seem surprised to see me.”

“How did she even know you were on this Earth? I didn’t even know we were going to be on this Earth,” Lena supplied.

“We’re about to find out.” Oliver stormed out after glancing at the camera that held their prisoner. This was such a mess.

“He’s an anachronism,” an older man chimed in after Oliver left.

As if sensing the confusion, Sara went on to explain, “Lately we’ve been dealing with anachronisms. It’s people and things displaced throughout time.” Wait. Was Sara a time traveler? Lena’s mind was being blown.

“Ok, but why would Nazis from 1945 want to crash my wedding?” Iris questioned.

“Iris has a point though. If I wanted to rule the world, I would have targeted the military or law enforcement. The white house. Not a wedding,” Lena added.

“Tommy was plucked out of time five years ago and put into the Prometheus wardrobe. It doesn’t make any sense,” Felicity tried to reason.

Caitlin shrugged. “It does if we’re not dealing with an anachronism.”

“Visitors from another Earth?” Barry picked up on her line of thinking.

“Woah. There are more than one?” A guy Lena didn’t know the name of asked.

Kara stepped forward. “There are 52, actually.” How did she know that?

Wells sighed from where he was leaning on the doorframe. “There’s a 53rd Earth, and it’s called Earth-X. It doesn’t have a designation because it’s a place so awful, so horrific, no sane person would ever travel there. It’s basically our Earth - same history, same timeline - with one crucial and critical difference. The Nazis won the war. And New York, London, Moscow - all obliterated. The SS set up outposts not only throughout Europe but also throughout the Americas, and Hitler continued his brutal reign.”

Felicity looked sick and walked away muttering, “God, this is making me physically ill.”

“We have to stop them.” Kara glanced at everyone. “Do we think they are using a breach to hop in between worlds?”

“That or they have a staging area. Somewhere in Central City or close by,” Lena suggested.

“Well good thing we have a metric ton of smart people in this building… and Rory. Let’s get to work on finding our new friends from Earth-X.” Barry grimly nodded to everyone.

Lena walked out of the elevator and almost jumped out of her skin when Sara said, “Hey.”

“Hey.” She straightened up and looked at the assassin.

“How are you?” She quirked an eyebrow and put her hands on her hip.

“Um, well, punching Nazis, that was definitely as satisfying as I imagined it would be.” Which was true.

Sara tilted her head and reached rested an arm n Lena. “You ok?”

“Honestly?” Lena shook her head. “I’m still a bit new to the saving the world business and I feel slightly over my head here? I managed to find some materials so I can scrape some webs together but I don’t know if that’ll be enough. Nazis from another Earth invading while I’m on said foreign Earth is extremely different than stopping aliens from taking over the world on my home turf.” She couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

Sara squeezed her arm in a comforting gesture. “I get it. You were badass out there earlier, I wouldn’t sweat it too much. Plus, we’ve been kicking ass for a couple of years. We’ve got your back. We could spar a little later if you want. It helps with the nerves, I promise.” She clicked the elevator button.

“Sounds good.” The elevator doors opened and Sara stepped inside.

Just as the elevator doors were closing, Kara walked into the room (looking way too cute considering the situation). “Hey, I’ve been looking for you. Are you okay?”

“Why does everybody ask me that question?” Lena crossed her arms and smiled. “I’m okay, all things considered. Sara calmed my nerves down a bit.” There was that irregular beat Lena didn’t recognize in Kara’s chest.

“She did?” She crossed her arms and pouted a bit. “You do know you’re from another Earth, right? I just want to make sure you don’t get hurt!” She added in when Lena started to laugh.

The shorter woman walked towards her friend and took her hand. “It was a one-time thing. I don’t have feelings for her if that’s what you’re worried about.” Perhaps she was jealous? “Anyway, I’m nervous about the situation we have here. I’m used to petty thugs and the occasional alien, nothing on this scale. And during the Daxamite invasion, I was only on the field for a short time. I’m anxious.”

Kara nodded in understanding. “Well, this isn’t your Earth, so it doesn’t have to be your fight. I’m sure-”

“No!” Lena quickly interrupted. “I’m sorry, but no. I don’t care if this isn’t our planet, I’m joining in on the fight. When I created the suit and put on this mask, I knew what the risk was. I’m willing to put my life down for this cause. I don’t want you to talk me out of it, I just need some reassurance.”

The Kryptonian smiled warmly at Lena and she so hoped the alien didn’t catch how her heart sped up. “Alright then. Oliver has been the Green Arrow for about six years and Barry has been the Flash for about four. I trust them with my life. Ollie cares about his team, whoever that may be, so he makes strategic plans and does his best to watch everybody’s backs. We’re all badasses here, and that includes you. I know it’s only been three months since you’ve become Spider-Woman, but you’ve kicked some major ass in that short time. Don’t forget, you have your spider-sense protecting you,” she teased.

“Sam called it my spider-sense and it was catchy, okay? I wasn’t going to go around and call it my tingle!” Lena playfully slapped the alien in the arm. She felt significantly better. “Thank you, though.”

“Always.” They shared a smile. “Oliver, Barry, and I are going on a quick mission and I wanted to check in on you before I left.”

Lena squeezed her hand. “I feel a lot better now, thanks to you.”

“Good. Caitlin also asked me to take you to the lab so you could show her how you make your web fluid. Nerds.” That earned the alien another slap on the shoulder and an eye roll.

“Whatever, jerk.” Kara intertwined their fingers to pull Lena along. Neither of them released the hold until they had to separate, leaving Lena’s face tinged with pink and ignoring Caitlin’s knowing looks.

-

“It’s wall to wall Nazis in there,” Oliver stated as they walked on the roof.

“Lena and I will take up breech positions on the northwest corner,” Sara suggested to the vigilante. She nodded.

They entered the warehouse and Barry made quick work of the few guards that were in that room. She had her AI scan the area and there was nothing out of the ordinary.

“There’s no sign of the prism,” Lena reported after Hope told her as much.

“We got incoming,” Sara warned as she readied her bo staff. (Lena learned to fear Sara and her bo staff. Even with her enhanced durability, that shit  _ hurt _ .)

“Stay where you are!” One of the Nazis commanded. The room then became flooded with those disgusting people.

“As if,” Lena scoffed. And all hell broke loose.

For the most part, Lena was using her web-shooters to attack the Nazis. Once Hope told her that she already used half of her web fluid, she decided to pick up one of the assault rifles. She decided that heart or headshots would make the deaths quick and easy. Spider-Woman flipped through the air and shot the gun with precision.

“I see their Flash and their Supergirl but Hope doesn’t see their Oliver,” Lena reported into the comms.

She dodged a punch from someone behind her and stabbed him in the chest with the knife Sara gave her. She noticed that Oliver got knocked over so she kept the enemies off of him until she reached him. She helped him up and he gave her a nod in thanks. The fighting lasted for about another 20 minutes until all the Nazis were on the ground.

“Nice job everyone-” Barry was cut off.

As if they were just being toyed with, their Flash tackled all of them in a blink of an eye. Then everything went black.

-

Lena woke up and realized she was chained to the wall. She looked around and noticed that her teammates were chained too. Then she noticed the collars.

“Hope?” Her AI stayed silent. Great. She tried to break the cuffs she was in but to no avail. The collar was an EMP and a power dampener. Fuck.

“Lena?” Sara groaned.

“How are you feeling?”

“I feel hungover.” Slowly, the others started to wake up.

Oliver and Kara were struggling against the restraints. “The collars have EMP and dampen our powers,” Lena supplied to keep them from hurting themselves. Experimentally, she clicked the button to her web-shooters and a nearby guard was webbed to the ground. Before she could try it again, there was a blur of red and she shouted out in pain. Her wrists hung limply from the handcuffs.

“Pathetic,” the other Supergirl growled. Lena curled up on herself and stared at her broken wrists. Without her powers, she wouldn’t be able to heal. Fuck, fuck,  _ fuck _ . At least it was a clean cut.

“Lena!” Kara tried to reach out for her but couldn’t reach. Lena could only fight to keep herself conscious. She was aware of people around her talking but her ears were ringing and the pain was overwhelming. She wished she didn’t try to use her web-shooters. There was a flash of green light and everything once again went dark.

-

“Ready.” Spider-Woman’s suit had already sustained massive damage without any repairs. It would only be able to handle so many more bullets. “Aim.” Lena bent her knees slightly. “F-” She jumped in front of Sara and Oliver to shield them the best she could and closed her eyes, awaiting the impact of the bullets. But nothing came.

“I hate “fire.”,” an unknown person said. Lena looked up from the ground and saw someone in a coat with a gun.

“Snart?” Everyone asked.

“Kill them all!” The officer instructed once he got his bearings. Oliver and Barry rushed the guards to buy some time while Sara grabbed Lena by her arm and dragged her into the pit for cover.

Leonard Snart, or Leo as he preferred, unlocked the collar on the new person who warned everyone to cover their eyes. He flew up in the sky and shot beams of light towards the Nazis. Once Lena’s collar was unlocked, she had the mask move off of her face so she could finally breathe. Though the air on Earth-X wasn’t any better than it was in her mask.

Sara had to help Lena out of the trench since her wrists were still broken. At least now with her powers coming back, they would be able to start healing. Right now, however, she had to focus on running away with everyone else.

“If you’re from our Earth, you have a pretty good idea where we came from, right?” Barry asked.

“Yeah, I think I do. You came through this.” He showed everyone an image on the iPad.

“A temporal gateway?” Barry guessed.

“Sam physics as a breach, just more stable and larger,” Lena muttered to herself. It was similar to the teleporter she made.

“So we have a way to get back,” Professor Stein concluded.

Oliver stepped forward slightly. “So where is this thing?”

“It’s actually not too far from here,” Leo started.

“22.3 kilometers, to be exact.” See, even on another Earth, they use kilometers. Take notes, America.

The Arrow crossed his arms. “So take us to it.”

“Can’t do that. The gateway’s in a facility guarded by a not-so-small army of Nazis.”

Jax said what everyone was thinking, “Yeah, well, we’ve faced worse, so.” He shrugged. “It’s our only way home. We’re going through it.”

“Nobody’s going through anything.” Lena turned around to see a guy who looked like Winn. Must’ve been his doppelganger. Lena’s head was pounding as and she stumbled off to the side. “The gateway is guarded by 30 Panzer XIIs, 50 Strumtigers, and 100 Schutzstaffel officers.” That sounded like great odds. Lena found a chair and slumped down on it. If that was truly what they were going to fight against, Lena needed her hands. 

Lena didn’t run any tests on her metabolism or her healing factor. She had no idea how long it would take to heal. A broken wrist usually took about 8 weeks to heal, but how long would it take  _ her _ to heal? The youngest Luthor didn’t have a medical degree (she knew she should’ve gone to med school) but she tried creating a drug for herself regardless. This was supposed to help heal her if she was somehow paralyzed from a substance or wake her up if she were frozen. It, of course, hadn’t been tested, but the chemical was in her suit already. It might help heal her or might make things worse, but she needed to try. She refused to be dead weight here.

“What are you doing?” Lena was jerked from her thoughts as Sara approached her.

“Something stupid, probably.” She took a deep breath. “Hope, execute Command AMD3100.” A needle pierced her skin.

“What the hell did you do?” Sara hissed as she walked over to the vigilante.

Lena had to sit down on the ground. “I don’t care how Sturmtigers they have out there. I’m going to save Kara with or without the help of these people. I injected myself with a serum I was working on. Though I haven’t actually tested it. Until now. Hope, record the findings please.”

“Oh my God.” The White Canary shook her head and slid down next to the Spider. “Is there any way I can help?”

Lena forced her left web-shooter off. “Grab those planks, yeah?” Sara grabbed two planks that were going to have to do as makeshift stints. The nanotechnology moved as Lena mimicked rolling up a sleeve. “Can you web these to me? I need to make sure it heals correctly.”

“My ship is full of dumbasses. But this? I don’t think they’ve done anything this stupid before,” Sara huffed but did as she was told. Her arms were now stiff thanks to the webs and wood, but it was worth it. She mimicked rolling down her sleeve and the suit covered the stints. Sara placed the web-shooters back in place and Lena experimentally flicked her fingers down. It hurt, but at least she could shoot webs.

“Thanks. Now I’m ready to kick some Nazi ass.”

“No, you’re not. You’re impressive, I’ll give you that. But you still can’t fight your way through an army of Nazis scared and broken.”

“I’m not scared,” Lena heaved. The medicine was doing  _ something _ to her and it hurt. But she wasn’t scared, she could do this. She  _ had _ to get back to her own Earth. No matter what.

Sara rested a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. “No, not for you. For Kara.” Lena tensed. Barry told her what the Nazis were planning to do with Supergirl and it made Lena want to kill every single one of them.

“I should’ve fought harder. Or smarter. I’m a fucking genius with 3 PHD’s at 24, and I run a fortune 500 company. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to be captured. I’ve just been distracted.” That was the brutal truth of it. She was distracted. She couldn’t keep her mind off of Kara even though Lena knew the Girl of Steel would be okay. 

“Well, sorry to be a distraction,” Sara smirked.

Lena’s lips twitched into an almost smile. “You were a welcomed distraction, but not the one I was talking about.” She wanted to fiddle with her fingers or do something, but her wrist was still killing her. “You don’t understand. I can’t lose her.” If they did anything to Kara… She didn’t want to think about it.

“I understand more than you think. I lost my sister. The anger and guilt that I felt for not being able to save her took me down a dark path.” Sara’s heavy eyes met hers.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“How could you? I mean, the only thing we know about each other is what we look like with clothes off. Beautiful, by the way.” The Spider rolled her eyes but cracked a smile. “You also don’t know that I protect my team, and you, Luthor, you’re on my team. And I promise we’re not gonna let what happened to my sister happen to Kara.”

“I’m just worried. If anything went wrong, that’d be on me. And there’s just so much I want to say to her, so many things we haven’t talked about, food places she still wants to try. She’s only known about my secret identity for about a week and we haven’t had a team-up yet. I need to get back to her.” Lena knew she sounded desperate, but she couldn’t help it. Her anxiety was starting to rise and the pain was still throbbing and she had just injected herself with an untested chemical and-

“Hey, look at me.” Sara squeezed her shoulder and Lena’s eyes snapped to her. “We will save her, okay?” Lena nodded and took another deep breath. “The girl you were telling me about - the one you have a crush on - it’s her, isn’t it?” She asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

“Yeah. It is.” Lena tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. “She doesn’t know that, of course. Now we’re on Nazi Earth and she may never know.”

The blonde woman studied Lena’s face and considered her next words carefully. “I haven’t been in a serious relationship in a while, but I know that love is worth the risk. Kara is the best of us, I think, and she deserves some happiness in her life. She has a big heart and she’s considerate of other people’s feelings, as far as I know. Once this mess is over, tell her how you feel. Put it all out there. That way, the ball is in her court and you don’t have to fret about it so much.”

Lena stayed quiet and thought about it. They were both adults. If Kara wasn’t ready or rejected her feelings, Lena could accept that. It would hurt like hell, but she’d be able to understand. “Are you secretly a romantic?” She went to her go-to coping mechanism: jokes and sarcasm.

“Who knows?” Sara chuckled quietly to herself. They stayed sitting next to each other while the drug worked its way through Lena’s system and the team planned their next move.

-

Lena walked out of the Waverider’s med bay. She had just dropped Professor Stein off and left before anyone could say anything about her condition. It didn’t hurt as much when she moved her wrists, but it was still definitely broken. She wandered around aimlessly until she found her best friend.

“Kara!” Lena rushed over to the alien who sat on some boxes in a hospital gown.

“Lena! Are you okay?” The two women looked each other over and Lena was glad for the lead that concealed her injuries.

The younger woman placed a hand on Kara’s cheek and whispered, “Yeah, yeah. I can’t believe they almost-”

“I know, I know.” Kara rested her hand over Lena’s.

“I thought I lost you.” The vigilante was holding back tears. It must’ve been from the lack of sleep and her hunger. Not from the overwhelming relief she felt seeing her friend alive. Nope.

The Kryptonian wrapped her arms around her friend.“Me too,” she mumbled into Lena’s hair. “So much for getting away from it all, huh?” She joked as she pulled back.

“Where are we anyway? What’s the Waverider?”

“It’s the Legend’s time ship. Sara is the captain and this is their home, pretty much. I don’t know too much about it, but I know they have an Artificial Intelligence that runs the ship.”

That caught Lena’s attention. “They have an AI that runs the ship?”

“Indeed. My name is Gideon. Welcome aboard the Waverider, Ms. Luthor. It appears that you are severely injured. May I-”

“I’m fine!” Lena glanced over to Kara. “I’m totally fine.” She cleared her throat. “So Gideon, you can run the ship?”

“Yes.”

“That is so cool. I have so many questions. I have my own AI, you see, and I have been trying to connect her to my suit, but I can’t find a way to help me function it,” Lena started to ramble on. Kara sat back and watched the two converse with a fond smile.

“I can show you to one of my operating systems and we can work together to solve your problem,” Gideon’s voice offered.

“I know we’re in the middle of a crisis and everything, but this is amazing. It’s going to take some time to track the Nazis down anyways, right? Also while we’re at it, I have some questions about this time-traveling thing…” Kara’s eyes followed Lena out of the room and felt a warmth spread through her body. Lena was safe. That was all that mattered to her.

-

“Duck!” Spider-Woman called out to Mr. Terrific. The guy did as he was told and Lena shot a web at the guy’s fist and pulled towards her. While the Nazi was off-balance, Mr. Terrific knocked him out.

“Webs? They are so cool! My first crossover and I’m loving it!” He cheered and ran off to help another person out.

Spider-Woman fought alongside Steel and was grateful she didn’t have to take any bullets for him since her suit was already at its limits. She tangoed with a few more of the heroes until she got an alert.

“This isn't working!” Felicity panicked.

Lena looked around and spotted the Atom. “Give me a lift to the Waverider, yeah?” She called out to him. He nodded and started fighting his way towards her. “Okay Hope, this is your time to shine. Execute Command Let there be Hope.” Her suit peeled off and formed next to Lena, Hope experimentally flexing her fingers.

“Looks good, Boss. Good luck.” Lena nodded to her suit and allowed the Atom to fly her to the Waverider.

“What’s wrong, Felicity?” The raven-haired woman (who was in nothing but a pair of boxers and a t-shirt) jogged over to the blonde.

Felicity tapped at her iPad and turned around. “Why aren’t you wearing clothes?” Lena crossed her arms. “Right, sorry. The Nazi Waverider is overpowering us and our weapons aren’t working.”

“Why don’t you and Cisco try and hack it?”

“Sort of busy here!” Cisco was flying the ship.

“I’ve got it.” Lena walked over. “Switch with me. Hack into the Nazi Waverider’s mainframe and dismantle the weapons first. Then we’ll figure out the shields.” The young man nodded and Lena hopped into the captain’s seat. It took her a second, but she was able to figure out the controls.

“Overgirl’s radiation levels are rising exponentially,” Wells called out as he entered the room.

Lena dodged a missile and cursed under her breath.

“Okay, the weapons are disabled. Even if we drop the shields, it may be too risky to shoot at the ship with Overgirl about to explode.”

“Leave that to me,” Supergirl exclaimed through Lena’s earpiece. Lena swerved the ship and decided to help the people on the ground now that Kara was going to take care of that.

“Gideon, thank you for the help. Looks like Hope is doing great out there.” They had a little over an hour to reprogram Hope, but Lena would like to say they did a great job. Her baby was throwing punches like crazy, no rhyme or reason, but she was at least being a distraction. The coding wasn’t perfect, but she could fix that back at home.

“It was my pleasure, Lena. Although I do strongly suggest heading to the med bay now, your condition is critical. The-” As if by her words alone, Lena’s nose started to bleed and she fell off the seat just as the ship lurched to the side.

-

When Lena woke up, she was in her spider suit. That was the first thing she noticed. The second thing she noticed was Sara and Kara sleeping next to each other, their heads rested on one another. The vigilante pulled out the IV and blinked really hard. Her spider-sense was numbed and her stomach felt weird. She flexed her fingers experimentally and found that her wrist didn’t hurt. To be sure, she moved it and found no pain.

“What happened?” She asked the room knowing one of the two AI’s would answer her.

“The medicine you injected yourself with was too overwhelming on your body so you passed out. The chemicals in your body started to become unbalanced, then-”

Hope cut Gideon off, “You nearly died, Boss! Adrenaline can only do so much!” Her voice echoed out of Kara’s phone that was on the tray.

“It was foolish of you, indeed. Without the medicine at my disposal, the chances of you surviving were 25%,” Gideon disclosed.

“Cisco and Wells carried you here and I came as quickly as I could. Even got the suit back on you since you didn’t really have clothes on.”

“Thank you, Gideon, Hope.” She absentmindedly rubbed her wrists. “So how long was I out? How long have they been here?”

“It has only been approximately nine hours. These two have been here for eight,” Gideon reported. 

Lena reached for her friend’s phone and took a picture of them before sending it to herself. “At least I didn’t go into a spider coma this time, right Hope?”

“You nearly did, Boss,” her AI chortled. “It was thanks to the ship’s sedatives that you didn’t.” Well, that would’ve been embarrassing.

“What were you two doing while I was out?”

“Gideon is so smart, Boss. I have learned a lot! These Legends sound like the type of people you would get along great with. Reckless, misfits, and antiheroes!” Lean suppressed a smile and rolled her eyes at the phone. The three continued to converse for a bit, mostly talking about the adventures of time-traveling.

“Are you-” Sara pointed at Lena - “talking to the AI’s?” She then gestured to the phone and the ceiling.

Lena blushed. “Well, I didn’t want to wake you two up. Gideon is actually great at conversation and she gets along well with Hope.”

“You didn’t tell me you created an AI!” Kara accused.

Hope lit up Kara’s lock screen, in amusement if Lena had to guess, and chirped, “It’s nice to finally be of acquaintance, Kara! Boss has told me so much about you-”

“Okay!” Lena abruptly stood up to stop Hope. “We should get back to our Earth soon. I left Sam and Jess in charge of the company while I was gone and I promised them I’d be back by now. Assuming there is a company to get back to.” Sara smiled knowingly at Lena and Kara just nodded.

-

“So. You’re going to another Earth and I’m going to another time,” Sara spoke. They were standing in a field where the Waverider was parked so the people could go and attend Professor Stein’s funeral.

“Yeah, that’s kind of how we roll, huh?” Lena thought back to just five years previous. She wouldn’t have believed any of this was possible. Okay, maybe she would have, but she wouldn’t believe that it would have happened to her.

“Totally normal.” The White Canary shrugged. Lena wondered how long it would take her to think of time traveling spaceships from the future and different Earths as “normal”.

Lena shoved her hands in her pocket. “Thank you for putting things in perspective for me.” Once they got home, Lena was going to tell Kara how she felt, consequences be damned.

“Does that mean you’re gonna take my advice on you-know-who?” Sara subtly inclined her head towards the Kryptonian.

“Yes. But don’t look so smug about it!” The vigilante huffed and crossed her arms. “There’s going to be someone out there for you, too. Someone who’s gonna mean more than a one-night stand.”

The assassin grinned. “Funny. That was my takeaway too.”

“Boss,” Mick called out. He walked towards the two women. “Ship’s ready.

The captain nodded. “Catch you on the other side.” The two women shared a hug. What an experience.

“You hit that?” Lena heard Mick ask.

“Shut up.” Sara hit him upside his head and Lena laughed loudly. The two time-travelers turned around and Lena sent a wink and blew a kiss before turning around to meet her group.

“You ready?” Kara inquired.

“Yeah, so, so ready.” Lena was ready to take a nice, hot shower and have as much pizza as she wanted.

“Sorry about the wedding,” Kara started. “We’ll be back for the do-over, though!”

Barry wrapped an arm around Iris. “We decided that we’re just going to go down to the court, no big wedding. That way it’s easy and less likely to be a disaster.”

“That’s understandable.” If Lena’s wedding was crashed by Nazi’s she wouldn’t throw another one either. “It was nice meeting all of you.”

Even though Lena wasn’t much of an affectionate person, she felt like hugs were alright considering they almost died together. She saw Oliver and Kara share an awkward fist-bump and held out her fist to do the same but was surprised when Oliver pulled her into a hug. She smiled and stuck her tongue out at Kara who rolled her eyes.

The portal opened up in Kara’s dark apartment. The past few days were such a blur of fighting and trying to stay alive that Lena had forgotten about her hunger. Until her stomach growled.

“How about I order take out and you crash here tonight? If you want, of course.” Lena saw how tired Kara was too.

“Pizza and Chinese?” Her friend nodded. “Do you mind if I take a shower?” She shook her head. Lena trudged her way to Kara’s bathroom and started to run the water. She promised herself she was going to tell Kara right away, but she was exhausted. It’d have to wait until tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, I'll write the next chapter within the week. It's my story and I already want those two dummies to get together. I was thinking of getting drunk and writing a filler chapter. I've done that a couple of times for another story and the chapters tend to come out.... chaotic. Funny. Also, the first chapter to the "behind the scenes" to this should be out soon. Sooo yeah ;0
> 
> [Another Vine compilation](https://youtu.be/v-Q2L3TtFAc) and [my tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked)


	11. Moving On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another over 10k word chapter sorry I can't stop myself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it seems like I'll be updating once a week? Every Monday? That's what I've been doing lately so I'll stick to that ;p

“Hey, can you call Jess in here? I have something super important to tell her,” Kara suddenly spoke.

Lena scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. “Sure?” She pressed the button that would alert Jess to come into her office. Kara and Lena were having lunch in the CEO’s office. It had only been two days since the whole Nazi thing and the younger woman still hasn’t confessed her feelings. In her defense, it was harder than she originally thought.

“Do you need anything?” Jess stepped into the room with an iPad in her hand.

“I’m Supergirl.” Kara unbuttoned her shirt and took off her glasses. Lena facepalmed and Jess gasped in surprise. “Now we should go to the DEO so you both can sign the NDA’s!” She practically cheered. Lena was lost.

“You’re Supergirl!” Jess looked between both women. “Oh my god, you’re Supergirl.” She looked at her boss with wide eyes, unsure of what was happening.

“Yep. Lena and I are going to be around each other a lot - alter egos and everything - so I figured I would tell you. Lena trusts you, so I do too.” Kara then stage whispered, “Plus if she gets in over her head, I want you to call me.” Jess laughed.

“I can take care of myself, you know. Have been for the past three months,” Lena scoffed.

Kara laughed. “I know. But now that I know it’s you under the mask, I want to be extra careful. I don’t know what I would do if anything ever happened to you and I could’ve been there to save you.” The earnestness in her eyes dragged Lena in. Her heart was dancing in her chest and Kara’s was beating a little quicker too.

Suddenly self-conscious, Lena looked away. “You said something about signing NDA’s?”

“Yeah. Might as well get it out of the way, right?”

“The rest of your evening is cleared. I’ll let Sam know we’re heading out for the day.” Jess nodded and walked through the adjoining door.

Lena started to pack up her things. “Isn’t the DEO going to freak out when they see a Luthor walk in?”

“They wouldn’t dare say anything bad about you while I’m there.” Lena wasn’t sure if she wanted to know why.

The three of them walked down to the garage and Lena got in her car. She preferred driving herself around and stopped using a personal driver when one tried to kill her. She also tended to use her web-shooters anyway.

“Where exactly are we going?” Jess asked from the backseat.

“To my base of operations, the DEO or the Department of Extranormal Operations.”

“You are so bad at keeping secrets.” Lena backed out. “Isn’t it supposed to be super-secret? Not even Lex had all the information on it.”

“I was thinking maybe we could do some team-ups in the future. You’re crazy smart and I know we might need your help one day. All the gadgets you make? Hope? All brilliant. You would fit right in at the science guild on Krypton.” The driver blushed at the compliment.

“Jess actually made the web grenades, most of my webbing, and she’s helping me work on my new suit,” Lena rushed out to take the attention off her. “I’m trying to fire her as my secretary to do more important work, but she refuses.”

Jess crossed her arms. “I still haven’t found a suitable replacement! I need to make sure they will be able to keep up with you, have your schedule ready the way you like it, won’t allow people in your office without permission, be able to memorize your meetings, can deal with high-stress situations. The list goes on and on. I’ve had years to figure you out and your work methods. Recently, you’ve become more nitpicky with everything, so excuse me for wanting to make sure my replacement is perfect,” she rambled. Kara laughed loudly and Lena flushed further.

“I didn’t know you were such a hassle to work with,” the blonde teased. “I would’ve guessed you were Spider-Woman if I had known that.”

Lena turned the corner a little harder than necessary and narrowed her eyes at her passenger. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing!” The alien raised her hands but was wearing that teasing smile she always wore when Supergirl and Spider-Woman were teasing each other. “Once you find a replacement, you could work for the DEO. We could always use another genius aside from Winn.”

“Now you’re trying to steal my favorite employee? Low blow.”

The rest of the car ride consisted of Kara and Lena bantering (i.e. flirting) while Jess sat in the back smiling. The two heroes were so oblivious when it came to their feelings for one another.

“You’re Lena Luthor,” a woman gasped. They had entered an office and so far, true to Kara’s word, no one had said anything. “You’re finally here!” Lena exchanged a look with Jess.

“Yeah?”

“I’m Pam from HR. Kara talks about you all the time! I have all the paperwork for you specifically ready to go. Did she tell you? Did you find out? Was it her lame excuses? Did she let it slip?” Kara groaned and covered her redding face.

“I figured it out. Wasn’t that hard considering I’m brilliant and she’s a terrible liar,” Lena winked at Kara who groaned louder and started mumbling under her breath.

While Lena was reading and filling out the massive paperwork, Pam started working on one for Jess.

“So Kara never shuts up about Lena?” Jess started once the duo left to explore the facility. “Lena never shuts up about Kara. They have lunch dates at least twice a week and I have to make sure to leave a two-hour gap for the dates because they can talk forever.”

Pam looked up from the computer. “Really? There was a new agent and he apparently wasn’t told to never mention Lena while Kara was in the building, right? Well, he said that she was just another Luthor and really started going off until Supergirl lifted him up by the shirt and went on a rant about how amazing Lena is.”

Pam and Jess spent an hour gossiping about the two women. The conversation then moved onto their jobs and how ridiculous some people could be. Pam still had some paperwork to do, but she was practically the boss in HR so it could wait.

Kara and Lena were walking around the DEO and the latter’s spider-sense was buzzing uncomfortably. It was probably because of all the stares she was receiving. In addition to that, her mouth was uncomfortable. It almost felt as if new teeth were growing in. It had been hurting for the past two days, but that day it was at its peak of pain.

“I’m assuming she knows?” Alex stood in front of the pair with her arms crossed and a stern expression. The vigilante heard Kara gulp and felt her tense. “It’s about time. Has she shown you the labs yet? They are probably nothing on L-Corp’s, but we have alien technology.” Alex smiled and Kara visibly relaxed.

“This does sound intriguing. Lead the way, Agent Danvers.” Lena let out a sigh of relief. She and Alex hadn’t interacted much, so she was grateful the woman at least somewhat liked her so far.

“Hey Alex, Kara. Lena.” Winn’s head snapped up from where he was tinkering. “Lena?”

She waved a bit awkwardly. “Hello, Winn. Nice seeing you again.”

“Are you coming to game night tonight? I have some more questions about Spidey’s suit. Maybe some upgrades ideas I’ve been thinking about. Can I meet Spider-Woman? Is she as cool as Kara says she is? If I didn’t know better, I’d say Kara likes her more than-” The Kryptonian clamped a hand over his mouth.

“I don’t talk about her a lot! And I definitely do not like her.” Lena raised an eyebrow.

“What are you talking about? You go on and on about how “annoyingly cute” it is when she flips around. And you said-” Kara clamped a hand over Alex’s mouth as well.

Lena was completely smug now. “It’s okay, darling. I know how hot Spider-Woman is. She’s so amazing, isn’t she?” Winn nodded his head and stepped back from the blonde.

“So is it true then? That you and Spider-Woman are dating?”

“Yes. We’re madly in love.” Kara rolled her eyes and facepalmed. “Though, we are in an open relationship.” Lena winked when Kara looked at her.

Alex’s eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open. At least someone was picking up on her obvious flirting. Winn’s face was starting to turn pink and Kara looked like she was ready to fly out of there. Lena could only relish in the mess she made for a short while before the stinging in her mouth returned at full force. She was doing everything in her willpower to not show any sign of discomfort.

“I should get going. There’s something I need to take care of at home.” Her head was hurting now and the hairs all over her body were sticking up. Kara seemed to sense that something was wrong so she excused themselves and led the way back to where they left Jess.

“What’s wrong?” 

“I feel like I’m going to be sick.” Lena entered the office room and found a trash can where she proceeded to throw up.

“What happened?” Jess stood up from the conversation she was having with Pam and rushed over to her boss to hold her hair back.

Kara knelt down next to Lena and peered into the trash can. The vomit was almost a light yellow to the point it almost looked white. “I’m not sure.”

“Home. Take me home, please,” Lena croaked. Her insides felt like they were melting. Kara sped off to change into her super suit. “Take my car and take that.” Jess nodded and stood back so Supergirl could scoop up the sick woman.

Lena was a healthy person. She hardly ever got sick and even when she was hungover, she rarely ever threw up. So something must be terribly wrong with her now.

“Basement.” She gestured to the door at the end of the hallway. Kara carefully floated down the stairs and laid her on the medical table. “Hope?”

“It seems as if there is a venomous substance in your system.” Kara started to freak out. What was she supposed to do? Take her to a hospital? No, they would notice she was a metahuman. Even with her x-ray vision, she couldn’t see what was wrong. “I believe it’s a side effect from the AMD31000, Boss.” Hope sounded stress and the lights were almost completely off.

Lena managed to crack a smile. “That’s what I get for injecting myself with random crap, huh?” Then she started to seize.

“What do I do?” Kara was so freaked out. She held her best friend and gently turned her on her side in case she threw up again. The superhero felt completely out of her depth here.

“Caitlin. She’s a doctor, right?” The blonde’s head snapped to her best friend and looked at her as if she grew a second head.

“Not that kind of doctor-”

“Take me there.” Lena’s eyes rolled back and she collapsed on the bed.

Kara grabbed Lena’s limp body and flew as fast as she was daring to her apartment. She opened the portal and flew straight to STAR Labs. “Something is wrong with Lena! And you guys are experts on metahumans so I’m hoping you can fix her? Please?” She practically had tears in her eyes. Barry grabbed the unconscious woman and zipped her onto the medical bed, hooking her up to the machines as he did so.

Caitlin ran into the room and started to put on medical gloves. “What are her symptoms?”

“She threw up and it was a yellowish, whitish color. It wasn’t chunky or anything, it was watery. Then she had a seizure. All of this happened within five minutes,” the superhero rushed out. Caitlin nodded and went to draw some blood. “Hope said she has venom in her system,” she added.

“Venom, not poison?” The doctor inspected the blue liquid with curious eyes. “Did something bite her?”

“No, I’ve been with her for the past three hours and nothing has happened. She did mention some pain in her mouth earlier, but nothing aside from that.” Kara was wringing her hands nervously.

“Caitlin will take care of her, Kara. She’s got this.” Barry led the hysteric alien out of the medical room. “You came to the right place.” He rubbed soothing circles on her back.

“She’s running tests, so it might take a while,” Cisco informed as he walked through the door. “But Lena will be alright. We are probably the only people on this Earth with a plethora of information on the ins and outs of metahumans. Though it might be a little more difficult since we’ve never dealt with a spider one.”

Taking a deep breath, the Kryptonian nodded. They were right, Lena was in the best hands. “I want to learn everything I can about metahumans,” she declared. “If something ever happens to her again, I want to be able to take care of her.” The two boys exchanged looks.

“I didn’t realize you two were dating,” Barry commented. “The wedding was only a couple days ago, what changed?”

“What?” She choked on air. “We- I- Us- I’m not- We’re not dating.” She stood up and shook her head. Lena liked Kara as a friend. They were good friends. Best friends, even. The flirting was just playful, there was no meaning behind it. No way could Lena be interested in someone like Kara. They were complete opposites. And Lena had a crush on some unknown girl. “She doesn’t like me like that.”

Barry raised his eyebrows. “Right. Well, I’ll teach you what I know and Caitlin can fill you in on when she can.”

Kara was reading the notes Barry lent her when Lena’s phone started vibrating.

“Hello?” How was her phone working here?

“Kara? Where’s Lena? What happened? Jess is here with a trash can full of vomit and said you two left? Is she okay? Wha-”

“Woah, slow down.” The alien looked at the phone curiously. Of course, if anyone could find a way to make phone service work between worlds, it’d be Lena. “I brought her to a friend to watch over her for now. She’s running tests but without knowing what Lena was like before this, it’s proving to be difficult.”

Kara heard Sam shoving papers into a bag. “I have a full workup of her physiology at my house. One from the day after the spider bite and another one from last week. I’ll grab it and come to you.”

“I’ll come to you. You’re at L-Corp?” Sam hummed. “Stay put.”

It took twenty minutes for the whole thing. When Kara had shown up in Sam’s office, she hadn’t thought twice about the fact that she was in her Supergirl outfit.

“What? Kara? You’re-”

“Yeah, I’ll explain later.”

Now they were standing back in STAR Lab’s and the reporter knew Sam wanted to ask many, many questions. But first, they had to help Lena.

“This is what she threw up.” Sam placed the baggie onto a table. Everyone looked at the newcomer. “And this is all I have on Lena Luthor’s body.”

Wells drummed his sticks on the counter and said, “Being from another Earth isn’t that cool if we keep having our buddies from Earth-38 coming over.”

“Ignore him, I usually try to,” Cisco jeered as he walked towards Sam. “I’m Cisco and that’s Wells.”

Sam stuck her hand out. “Sam. Where’s Lena?” They walked into the room and Sam was surprised by how pale her friend looked.

Caitlin looked up from her notes. “Is that the venom? Sweet. Barry, can you run a test on it to see what kind it is?” The CFO was surprised by a flash of lightening taking the baggie from her hand and blurring out of the room. Acting as if that was normal, the woman looked up and cheered, “That’s what I need! Now let’s figure out what’s wrong with our spider friend.” As Sam sat down, the lightening streak came into the room and when it stopped, a person stood in its place.

“It’s mostly Black Widow venom,” he reported.

“Is that the type of spider that bit her?” Kara asked.

Sam shrugged and started to spread the papers out. “We don’t know. The place blew up, remember? Lex was smart enough to have no record of it either, so we’re not completely sure what kind of spider bit her.”

An hour later, Caitlin, Sam, and Kara came up with an answer to what was wrong with Lena. With a quick check inside her mouth, they nodded in agreement.

“She has fangs now, that’s so cool,” the alien gushed. “Now she really looks like a vampire.”

Sam chuckled. “True. I wonder if she has to bite people in the neck for it to work.” She paused. “Actually, I wonder how it works in general.”

“Her DNA was altered and that’s what you guys are interested in?” Caitlin smiled at them. “I’ll have Barry get pizza for when she wakes up.”

As it turns out, the chemical she had created not only helped her heal, but it sped up a process that was dormant in her. No one could be sure how long it would’ve taken for the fangs and venom to fully form in her body, but it was supposed to be a slow process. Since she used the drug, it was sped up and her body was not prepared for the abrupt change. It accidentally made too much for her body to handle. Now she was sleeping so the toxin can fully adjust to her body.

Sam stood up and stretched. It had been a stressful day in the office and now this? She should’ve known what she was signing up for when she convinced Lena to put on the mask. “So you’re Supergirl and we’re on a different Earth, right?” Kara, who was now in a STAR Labs shirt and joggers, nodded. “And you know Lena is Spider-Woman.” Another nod. “Cool, okay. Makes sense.”

It was an awkward five minutes, but eventually, they started talking and got to know each other. Sam could see why Lena had feelings for Kara. The alien was kind, warm, bright, and had the cheesiest smile. When the topic traveled back to Lena, it was obvious that Kara returned those feelings. So why had no one made any moves? She was about to bring it up, but she heard her friend starting to stir.

“Where the hell am I?” She sat up slowly and her eyes instantly fell on the human version of a golden retriever. “Kara!” They hugged each other tightly and Lena’s eyes were sparkling.

“You’re at STAR Labs,” Arias answered once they pulled away from the hug. “Because apparently you shot some junk into your body and it accelerated a process that was already happening in your body so now you have fangs and venom. Congrats, you’re even more spider-like than you were before,” she ended sarcastically.

Lena frowned. “Wait, I’m venomous?” She reached for her phone and looked at the reflection. Her canines were sharper than before and slightly larger. “I have fangs? How am I supposed to run my company like this!” She hesitantly touched the tip of one.

“Stop being such a drama queen, Luthor. You can barely tell.” Which was true. It was a subtle change, they weren’t actually like vampire’s teeth. “We’re not sure exactly how that power works yet, so please refrain from biting anybody.”

“I should bite Lex is what I should do,” Lena fumed.

Kara patted her hand. “Let’s eat and then we’ll figure everything out, okay?”

“Okay,” Lena relented.

The trio walked out of the room into the main one where everyone was sitting down. When they saw Lena, they started to clap.

“She lives!” Cisco walked over and fist-bumped her. “Barry should be here any minute with the pizza. Afterward, we’re so going to figure out this new power of yours,” he promised.

“I heard that you made Barry alcohol that can get him drunk. Since you guys now know my body and everything, I’m begging you to help me come up with a formula so I can get wasted.” Lena raised a questioning eyebrow and he nodded. “Thank you for taking care of me.” Lena shook Caitlin’s hand.

“Not a problem. It was a fun challenge.”

In a gust of wind, a pile of ten pizzas landed on a table. Then another ten. And two more piles of ten before the Flash stopped and pulled off his cowl. “I had to go to four different pizza shops because one place didn’t want to do 40 all at once,” he announced like it was no big deal.

“Back on my Earth, if you ordered more than 10 pizzas, you had to help the chefs make them,” Well divulged. Everyone laughed and grabbed a plate to start eating. Sam was skeptical at the food to people ratio and was thoroughly amazed that not one slice remained in the end. Super humans must mean super appetite.

Even after yesterday’s fiasco, Lena had to go into work because she had a meeting with the mayor, a scheduled phone call with Lex, and she wanted to finish up her lab work.

“Mayor Morrison, it’s a pleasure,” she greeted as she walked into the conference room.

“Ms. Luthor.” They shook hands and she sat across from him. “The city wants to build a statue in honor of Supergirl and Spider-Woman for their heroics on the waterfront. They should be ready in a week’s time and I was wondering if you would like to give a speech. And of course, invite your super friends to attend.”

Lena’s back straightened. “Are you sure you want me to be the one giving the speech? I’m hardly the city's favorite person.”

The mayor laughed and waved his hand through the air. “Nonsense. I know how much money and effort you’ve been putting into the reconstruction of the city. Without your generosity, I’m sure we would be way behind in schedule funding wise. All you have to do is say a few words and that can be all. They’ll probably be looking forward to Supergirl and Spider-Woman anyway.” If Lena walked off the stage then she could go hide and change in time. She would have to be quick about it, but it could work.

“I suppose I can have a speech ready by then. Next week at what time?”

“Be there at 12:30, but we won’t actually begin until 1. We’ll have an official meeting at Morgan Edge’s office on Wednesday at noon.” The mayor stood up but idled. “I was also wondering if you would be interested in opening a homeless shelter. I know you have the children’s hospital and the orphanage, but National City could also use a shelter if you’re interested. There’s an empty lot going for sale soon, so if you’re interested, let me know and I’ll make sure it’s secure for you. People judge you based on your brother’s actions, but I think you are a good soul, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena stood and stared at the mayor with a blank expression. “Thank you, Mr. Mayor. It means a lot knowing I have your support,” her voice cracked but she didn’t really care. They shook hands once more and he was gone. She sat down and wiped a tear away. Besides her little group of friends, no one said nice thinks about Lena Luthor. They still called her an alien hater and all sorts of mean names. Knowing that the mayor liked her made her heart swell.

“How’d it go?” Jess asked as they walked into her office.

“Clear my schedule next Saturday from noon to 2. I have a speech to write about Supergirl and Spider-Woman’s heroics.” She still refused to call herself a hero, so this was going to be annoying to write.

They walked into Lena’s secret room in the office. Lena worked on her spiders and Jess was adding some finishing touches to the new spider suit. Since she was able to make trackers and track them with her spider-sense, she decided she would do that to the spiders she gave to her closest friends in case Hope wasn’t working or something. Lena was not going to take risks, better safe than sorry. The spiders were black with a green hourglass on top in which, when pressed, will alert Lena. The science behind it was easy enough, but it had to be precise so it was a pain to make.

The Mark III, on the other hand, was also another pain in the ass. Since this one was made of mostly kevlar and spandex, it wouldn’t shrink into a spider, like the Mark II. Instead, it’d be similar to the Mark I where she pulled it on like a onesie and it’ll shrink to fit her. It was also similar appearance-wise. Although, Lena went with red and blue with a white spider to try and get away from black. She wanted to spice it up.

Jess added the white logo to the suit and stood back to admire her handy work. The suit was now complete except for the web-shooters. These shooters would be significantly smaller so her wrists would have less bulk on them. Inside of the suit was a defibrillator in case Lena’s heart stopped and a single dose of adrenaline. On the outside, by her waist, was a little belt looking thing that held 4 cartridges of web fluid and 2 web grenades. A new mask was also made just to fit the new shade of red. Hope was already programmed in and ready to go.

“Done, Boos!” Jess cheered. Lena turned around and raised an eyebrow.

“You’re starting to sound like Hope.” Lena was completely amused and when she saw the finished suit, she smiled. “It looks amazing, Jess. I might have to go patrolling in it tonight.”

Jess walked over and picked up a spider. “These are so cool. Everything about this is so cool.” She watched her boss work on the spider for another ten minutes before speaking up. “I have narrowed down my list of possible replacements down to three. I’ll interview them all tomorrow and then I’ll send you the top two for you to interview.”

“That’s great Jess. Here, this is for you and this one is Sam’s. I’ll deliver the rest during patrol tonight.” She handed her friend two spiders.

Jess pocketed them. “Don’t forget we’re having a girls night tonight.” Lena had totally forgotten.

“Right, I remember.” Jess, rightfully so, didn’t believe her.

“We’re meeting at the club on 7th street at 8,” she called out as she exited the room. At least this time, Lena could actually get drunk with her special concoction.

She walked into the room and started to go through her email while she waited for Lex’s phone call. After this, she would have about three hours to try out her new suit. Even though this suit was literally just finished, Lena was already in the makings of another one. Instead of calling it the Mark IV, she was calling it the Iron Spider. Exciting, right? As her work with Dr. Octavius comes to an end, the suit starts to come to life. This suit will have a little backpack and inside will be extra “limbs” that Hope will be able to control. She was just starting though, so nothing but blueprints were done. She decided this suit would be pure nanotechnology, similar to the Mark II.

The phone ringing snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Lex.”

“That’s how you greet your brother?” Lena wanted to scoff but opted to roll her eyes so her brother wouldn’t be able to tell.

“Have you found anything on that rat yet?” Speak his language and he’ll comply. (He and Lillian were so similar it was almost annoying. No wonder that witch preferred him over her)

“No. I have some resources, but not a lot. That’s why I’m calling in a favor from an old friend. Remember Fisk?” How could Lena forget? He and Lex were thick as thieves and practically ruled the human criminal enterprise in Metropolis.

“What about him?” As far as she knew, they stopped talking after Lex’s arrest. Though, she didn’t know much about her brother anyway. For all she knew, he visited him every day and they would share a cup of tea.

“Fisk Enterprise will be expanding to National City and the CEO will move as well in a month’s time.”

“If he tries to bring his crime lord persona here, Spider-Woman will not hesitate to bring him down,” Lena warned her brother. 

Lex scoffed, “Please. Fisk will crush that stupid little bug if she tries anything. Clark couldn’t even bring him down, so I doubt either of your girlfriends can.”

“Will that be all?” She didn’t have time for this.   
  


“All business, huh? How’s Mother? She told me you were able to make my cube work. I’m impressed actually. You-”

“Goodbye, Lex.” Lena hung up the phone. Perhaps next time she should be drunk. She missed her brother, that’s certain, but she didn’t want to necessarily talk to him. He’s manipulative and nothing like the boy she grew up with.

So the Kingpin Wilson Fisk was coming to National City. Great. That’s a problem she’ll have to deal with later, though. She changed into the new suit and headed to her first destination: the precinct.

“New suit, Spidey?” The captain asked as he opened the door to his office.

“Yeah. You like?” She did a quick circle with her arms open.

He stroked his chin as if deep in thought. “I’m digging the colors. I’m always a fan of red, white, and blue,” he winked as he sat down. “So what do I owe this pleasure?”

Spider-Woman dropped the spider onto the desk. “New and improved. It’s a direct link to me and I’ll be able to track it anywhere.”

“Thank you for your service,” he mocked saluted. “Anything else?” He added once the Spider didn’t move.

“Actually, yeah.” She sat down. “I have intel that Wilson Fisk will be moving to National City. He’s a ruthless crime lord and I know at least half of Metropolis’ thugs are on his payroll. So far no one had anything solid on him so he’s untouchable. I’m giving you a head’s up - he’s going to be frustrating having in the city.”

“Sounds like you know him.” Spider-Woman shrugged. She’s only actually met the pig twice in person. He was kind to her in person, but she knew what he really was like. “I’ll ask my contact in Metropolis if she can help me with anything. She’s been trying to work a case on him for almost two years now, so I’m sure she’ll want a head’s up as well.”

Lena stood up and waved goodbye. She walked out of the office, down the hall to Maggie’s. “Sup, asshole,” she greeted. They were good enough friends now that they could insult each other without it having any sting. “You know, I wish my spider-sense would warn me about this.” She closed her eyes and tried not to think about what was in front of her: Alex pressed up against the desk, shirtless, with Maggie’s hand in her pants. She was going to have Hope delete that footage later. “I just wanted to give you this. I’ll see you later.” She tossed the spider in the air and, with her eyes still closed, locked the door as she walked out. She really did not want to see her crush’s sister in a bra while her friend was- nope. She was looking forward to those drinks now.

When she landed on the balcony of CatCo, she wasn’t expecting Cat Grant staring mournfully over the city. She was nursing a scotch in her hand and idly swished the contents.

“Hey Cat, you okay?” Lena sat on the railing, back towards the city.

The Queen of all Media hummed distractedly. A few minutes passed until she finally muttered, “I’m selling CatCo.” Lena almost fell off the edge.

“I’m sorry, you’re what?” Lena knew how much a company means to a person. She’s had L-Corp for about a year now and it means so much to her. Even though it started off as her family’s, L-Corp was her baby. There would be no way she’d sell it without a fight. So for Cat who practically made CatCo from scratch was a shocking revelation.

“I’m selling CatCo,” Cat repeated a little more firmly. “The president asked me to be her spokesperson and in order to do that, I have to cut all ties with my company.” Lena understood, she really did, but it wasn’t going to make the parting any easier.

“Does Kara know?”

“I’m planning on telling her Sunday. I’ll announce it on Monday and let the people bid.”

They sat in silence for a bit enjoying each other’s company while it lasted. “I fixed the spider up. I would be able to track you anywhere, but I’m not sure my spider-sense reaches beyond the city. Take it with you anyway. I’ll be sure to send you off properly once Kara knows.”

“Please don’t,” Cat drawled. Lena was able to see the faint smile on her lips though as she backflipped off the balcony, into the night.

[yes I drew that myself, isn't it the cutest?]

“Sorry that I’m late, there was a bank robbery, then I had to go home and change, and then there was traffic,” Lena rushed out as she met up with her friends. It was already almost 9.

“We saw the news, it’s okay,” Sam assured her. “With Kara watching Ruby, I knew you’d get pulled away before meeting us.”

Maggie smirked, “I thought you were trying to avoid me. Sorry about that, by the way. I thought you had super hearing?” Lena cringed and pulled out a flask and took a long swig from it.

“What happened?” Jess asked.

“I went to drop something off at Maggie’s office but Alex was there.” Another gulp from the flask. “You know the earpiece I wear all the time? It dampens my super hearing. It’s maddening hearing all the little sounds, I don’t know how Kara does it.”

“Pussy.” Maggie didn’t seem at all bothered by the events that had transpired earlier. “One day we’ll walk in on you and Kara going at it, so then we’ll call it even.” Jess choked on her drink and Sam laughed out loud. Lena hurriedly drank more. She wanted to get drunk and forget this night already. “Alex was embarrassed, though. She apologizes. I don’t. You should’ve knocked.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have sex in your office!”

“Oh, you’re one to talk,” Sam lightly teased and Lena felt the attention shift to her.

The detective’s eyes were wide. “No! Jess, you told me you guys didn’t date!”

Jess looked pale. “You guys had sex in the office while I right outside?” She sounded so scandalized that Lena had to laugh at that.

“It was only a handful of times, I promise.” She was already starting to feel the buzz. Thank God.

Sam raised her eyebrows and her smile was sharklike. “One time, when Jess was on her break, I snuck into Lena’s office. 10 minutes in, we heard a knock so I hid under her desk, naturally. Poor Jess had no idea I was going down on Lena during the conversation.” Lena had never seen Jess look so appalled in all the years she’s known her.

Maggie wolf-whistled. “Damn, Luthor. Didn’t know you were the kinky kind.” She nudged the young woman and took a shot. “If it makes you feel any better, Jess, Kara walked in on Alex and I while we were on her couch.” Everyone looked at her. “In my defense, we thought she was going to be gone for another hour. After that, Kara used her heat vision to burn the couch and begged us to never do it in her apartment again.” Lena had wondered why Kara had changed her couch. When she asked her about it, the Kryptonian had just shrugged and avoided eye contact. Lena knew why now.

“I miss sex,” Sam wistfully spoke after finishing her drink. Jess opted to get another round. “I love Ruby to death but it’s hard dating when you’re a single mom.”

“Did you and Lena date or was it a friend with benefits situation?” Maggie asked. Lena was a bit taken aback about how easy it was to talk about their sex lives. Was this what having friends was like?

“Friends with benefits. Lena was just taking over the company and Ruby and I were still finding our rhythm with this new job, so we found it mutually beneficial,” Sam supplied easily.

The detective simply nodded as if that made perfect sense. “So Sam is on the market, I’m engaged, and Lena is head over heels for Kara. What about you Jess?” Lena didn’t even try to deny the statement.

The small woman shrugged. “I’m single, but not really looking. If someone catches my attention, I’ll be happy to pursue it, though.” Her phone lit up with a notification and her face lit up too as she answered the text.

“Are you pursuing it now?” Lena teased. She had only seen Jess’s face light up like that when she was given a raise or if Lena left the office early.

“I’ve only just met her. We’re getting to know each other.” 

“Who’s the lucky woman? Do we know her? On a scale of 1-10 how hot is she,” Sam pestered playfully.

Jess chuckled and answered another text message. “Her name is Pam.”

“Pam from HR?” Maggie questioned. Jess tried to shrug again but her blush gave her away. “I’m going to be your wingman, don’t worry Jess. Pam loves me. Hates the amount of paperwork Alex and Kara make her do, but I’m an angel in her eyes.”

Lena snorted (okay she was officially drunk now). “Maggie an angel? And a wingman? Don’t trust it.”

“Hey, I’m the best. It’s not my fault that you and Kara are both oblivious about your feelings for each other.” The cop stole the french fry Lena was about to put in her mouth. The Irish woman frowned.

“Kara does not have feelings for me,” she denied.

“Yes she does,” the three women chorused at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

“Even if she does like me, and I’m not agreeing with you guys, we can’t date,” the youngest woman mumbled sadly.

“Why not?” Maggie frowned at Lena’s mood change.

“You know that story about Icarus? Kara is the sun god Apollo. She’s bright and beautiful and just out of this world,” the CEO swooned. “I’m Icarus. I’ve been flying low and keeping my feelings to myself but it is so tempting to fly a little closer and allow myself to be with her. But I can’t. She’s too good for me. I’m Lena Luthor. I can’t keep a relationship. I’m a workaholic. I’m not even that human anymore. I’m cold and I’m difficult to deal with and-” She knew she wasn’t making any sense, but in her drunken mind, it made perfect sense.

“Hey, woah, it’s okay.” Jess put a hand on Lena’s hand to try and anchor her to the moment. She knew her boss had anxiety but she never really witnessed it first hand. “We all know that’s not true. Come on, let’s go dance. For right now, you don’t have to be a Luthor. Just an ordinary young woman at a club.”

The four women went to the dance floor and thankfully Sam was able to convince Lena to dance. It took a couple of minutes but she finally let loose and started to sway to the rhythm. Maggie and Jess were getting into it, but Sam was happy to stay back with her friend to keep her from spiraling. Eventually, after an hour, Lena started to complain about being hungry. Seeing as she was the soberest from the group, Jess offered to drive.

Lena was in a better mood and she was practically crying with happy tears when they pulled into the Taco Bell drive-thru. Since Maggie knew Lena’s order when she was upset, she ordered. They ended up with almost the whole menu and had to wait a couple of minutes for the food to be ready. The worker at the first window was extremely concerned until he saw Maggie in the passenger seat. The detective was well-known at most of the fast-food chains in the city because she often picked up food for Spider-Woman and Supergirl and their orders were huge.

“If I didn’t love her, I would say I’m disgusted,” Sam spoke. The group was currently in Lena’s living room while the owner of the house was on the ceiling. She was sitting criss-cross applesauce and was eagerly munching on a burrito with some of the contents dripping down and falling into the pile of napkins Jess made under her.

“It’s pretty disgusting,” Jess agreed when Lena shot a web to get a taco.

“I say next girls night out, we go to Mexico,” Maggie suggested. Lettuce and cheese fell from the ceiling as Lena unwrapped her taco. She frowned and adjusted so she could eat it properly.

“Why?”

“I used to live in San Diego. My buddies and I would go to TJ and party all the time. I’m telling you, the clubs there are nothing like what they are here. Plus, it’ll be fun to get away from the city for a weekend. I know all the best spots,” Maggie promised.

“I know 10 different languages but Spanish isn’t one of them. Why isn’t Spanish one of them? I know English, Gaelic, Mandarin, Japanese, Russian, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Latin, but I don’t know Spanish. How’s that possible?” Lena mumbled. She seemed genuinely stressed about it.

“I know Spanish. Italian is pretty similar to it, we’ll be okay,” Sam soothed. Lena continued to eat her taco sadly.

“You’re a genius, it’s okay,” Maggie tried but Jess quickly shook her head.

“A genius who doesn’t know Spanish! We live so close to the border, how did I not think about learning it? Am I stupid? It’s decided. Sam, Maggie, you’re going to teach me.” Lena hung from the ceiling by just her fingertips, hovering over the table so she could look at her friends.

“That’s what I get for bringing it up, isn’t it?” Maggie sighed but she wasn’t upset. “I’m charging you,” she warned playfully.

“On our patrols, you can teach me! Then during our free time, you can teach me, Sam. I should learn all the languages in the world. You should see the faces on investors' faces when they think they are being slick about talking shit behind my back in their native language and I call them out on it. It’s priceless.”

Jess smiled. “Most people in the business industry are scared of you. For good reason, too. You’re a badass.”

Sam nodded in agreement. “People seemed relieved when it’s me they talk to instead of you. I quickly make it known that I’m just as badass as you are though.” She offered her fist for a fist-bump and Lena moved to return it but quickly realized she used the hand that was keeping her hanging. She swung her body to try and avoid landing on the table and landed on her friends instead.

“Thanks for catching my fall.” They all started laughing. When Maggie pushed Lena onto the floor, they roared even louder. 

It was nearly midnight when Sam called it a night. They had spent the last hour and a half gossiping and getting to know each other more. Lena was happy to do parlor tricks (flipping and twirling around and overall having a fun time being silly) while Maggie told the most interesting cases she had cracked, Sam telling adorable stories about Ruby, and Jess talking about her life before working with the Luthors. It was a wholesome time and Lena really needed this. She needed some normal goodness after everything that had happened (especially since the Nazi invasion was not even a week prior).

As she was drifting off to sleep, Lena felt content with her life at that exact moment. She had actual friends who found her dry, sarcastic humor funny and helped her from spiraling. They were all completely different people with different personalities, but together, they meshed really well. She had an actual support system. People she actually, completely, trusted with her life. It was such a nice feeling.

“To Cat Grant.” Lena raised her glass for a toast. Everyone in the bullpen raised theirs and echoed the sentiment.

The vigilante had planned a party at CatCo’s office Monday night. Kara had to keep the woman of the hour occupied while she set up, but it was a breeze since the people in the office actually wanted to help her set up. Cat would be leaving tomorrow morning. She thought if she left early enough, she could avoid a going away party. She was obviously wrong.

“Speech!” Someone called out. Cat rolled her eyes and stood up from her seat. 

She went on to cite her accomplishments and her biggest achievements to avoid the touchy-feely talk. Throughout her speech, a smile had graced her face, and the people in the bullpen were smiling as well. It was rare to see Cat Grant in a good mood and they were thankful she wasn’t mad for surprising her on her last day here.

The party went on and people mingled. Lena opted to stay off to the side and eat some cake with Kara until she got pulled away by James. Cat went around speaking to each person that was present and was thanking them for all their work, no matter how small it was.

“You didn’t have to do this, you know,” Cat drawled as she approached the young CEO.

Lena set down her third plate of cake and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I know. I think it’s more for them than it is for you, though,” Lena gestured at all the employees who showed up. “You’ve made an impact on everybody here, and it was their last chance to tell you that.”

Cat’s eyes scanned the crowd as she thought of what to say next. “They’ve made a big impact on me as well.” They both stood in silence for a couple of minutes. “I want you and Kara on your best behavior while I’m gone, understand? You both still represent CatCo and are the best thing to come from me. Don’t mess that up.”

“We wouldn’t dare. Spider-Woman and Supergirl are officially friends.” She resumed eating her cake. “I am going to miss having you here, Cat. There’s a storm coming, I can feel it. Morgan Edge, then Norman Osborn will be here next week, and then Wilson Fisk. My spider-sense has been buzzing lately, like electricity. I don’t know what it means, but I know National City is in for one hell of a year.”

“You’re not alone, Lena. That’s a lesson it took me a while to learn. You have your ragtag group of friends and Kara to help you through whatever is coming. Don’t carry the weight of the world on your shoulders - you’ll crush yourself. What will happen to L-Corp if their CEO is incapacitated? You have a team. Utilize them.”

“I’m really going to miss you,” Lena repeated. “And you’re advice. Are you sure you’re not an alien? ‘Cause you really are something else, Cat.”

The older woman huffed in faux annoyance and crossed her arms. “Don’t get sentimental on me, Luthor. Where’s that cold business persona that I keep hearing about?” She shook her head and smiled slightly. “I have to go find Kara now. I know she’s going to get weepy in her goodbye. Remember, I’m just a phone call away.” Cat squeezed Lena’s shoulder and walked away to find her protege.

Kara did get weepy. Using their superspeed, Kara and Lena cleaned up the office once everyone was gone. Now, they sat on the balcony while the alien tried to stop her tears.

“She was the first person who really got me. Who understood and saw  _ me _ . Kara Danvers. It feels like everything is changing so fast. Mon-El is gone. Cat is leaving to improve her life. Snapper left on sabbatical. I don’t like it,” she admitted softly.

Lena scooted closer to her friend and grabbed her hand. “You’ve still got me. You know I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for you. Always.”

“Promise?” Kara looked at Lena with those big blue eyes that looked so vulnerable and broken.

“I promise.” She put as much conviction in her voice as she could. Right now wasn’t a good time to admit her feelings. Right now, Kara needed a friend and that was exactly what Lena was going to be. “How about we get changed and fight some crime? Then we can get Big Belly Burger.”

The alien perked up at that. “Deal!”

-

“People like to argue that capitalists are only concerned with themselves. The truth is, without big business, this city would still be in ruin from those Daxamites.” Morgan Edge paced around his office as he delivered his speech. “Look at us now. Bustling. I think we all should give ourselves a pat on the back. And, let’s not forget to glad-hand the Mayor as well. Without him, none of this could have happened either.” Lena suppressed rolling her eyes. He was such a suck-up.

Mayor Morrison cleared his throat. “It’s thanks to Lena. And it’s all of you as well. In a month, you’ve done the impossible.”

“Let’s not forget about Supergirl,” James spoke at the same time Lena said, “Let’s not forget about Supergirl and Spider-Woman.”

They shared an awkward look and James gave her a look that was like,  _ go ahead _ .

Lena sat up straighter as all the men in the room looked at her. “Literally none of the heavy lifting could’ve been done without them. They spent countless hours rebuilding the city, day and night, around the clock with no complaint.”

“Yes, of course. This is why I’m excited about the unveiling of “The Girl of Steel” and “The Web-Slinger” statues at the waterfront,” the mayor agreed.

Morgan Edge was still not having it. He was standing at the window and dramatically looking out of it as if he were Gabtsy at a party. “Mayor, it’s gonna take a lot more than some pretty statues to bring people down to that slum of a waterfront.”

“I am still working on the zoning commission, Morgan.” Even the mayor sounded annoyed by the pig.

“You’d do better to explain how my development will revitalize that neighborhood. Starting with moving out homelessness, crime. Moving in opportunity and an expanded tax base,” Edge listed off. Lena was pretty sure that was not his true intention.

Seemingly as annoyed with this conversation as everyone else, James said, “They’ve all heard your sales pitch, Morgan. We all have.” Some other members nodded.

“Yes. And I’m sure everyone has had a chance to read CatCo’s inflammatory articles about that sales pitch. Articles that have become increasingly biased ever since you took over babysitting Cat Grant’s mouthpiece.” Lena glanced at her watch. She really wanted to get out of here and get back to the comfort of her own office. There were some R&D plans she had to approve.

“Your development would level the whole area. Force people from their homes, just to build high-rises for the wealthy,” Lena added to try and expose him. This isn't Gotham. He can’t kick the poor out to make room for the wealthy.

“Lena. Are you spouting the CatCo company line? Really?” Edge stopped his dramatic pacing and stood behind her. “Ah. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, considering all the good press they’ve been giving you lately.” Deep breaths. Deep, deep breaths and count to 10.

“She’s earned that good press by donating millions of dollars to the rebuilding efforts,” the mayor butted in. She sent him a grateful look.

“That’s funny because I thought it was restitution for what her brother did. Or was it her mother? Or was it Lena? Seeing as she is the one who helped bring the aliens here in the first place. A little bit of business advice, Lena. Guilt is not a good business strategy.” God Lena wanted to do nothing more than dangle him off the roof of the building. But she had to keep her calm.

“No?” She smirked.

“No.”

The female CEO turned slightly to face Edge and looked him directly in the eyes. “Neither is exploitation.” He stuttered for a second before collecting his cool.

“I just want a fair hearing, that’s all. I hate to think that any of you here were unfair. Hmm? Now. My people have put together a tremendous spread, just in the office next door. Why don’t we all adjourn over there and take a sample of that? Mr. Olsen, you’re welcome to join us as well. You know, we can disagree, but still, break bread together.”

People started standing up to head to the other room. Lena had no interest in being in the same room as him anymore so she decided to just leave instead.

“You know, Edge, you are not as powerful as you think you are.” She narrowed her eyes at him and was satisfied when his heart started to race.

“Oh, no? Then what are we doing in my office?” She just shook her head at his audacity and walked out. He was such an immature piece of shit with a stupidly huge ego. He could get away with saying shit like that, but if Lena were to do that it’d be a different story.

She walked towards the elevator and was so distracted in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed James Olsen was also waiting for the lift. If she walked away now, it would look stupid and childish since he already spotted her, so she decided to awkwardly wait with him.

“He’s a dick,” James offered as they walked into the elevator.

“Glad I’m not the only one who thinks so,” she responded dryly. The rest of the ride was in tense silence and Lena walked out to her car without another word. She was already in a bad mood and couldn’t see how her day could get any worse.

She should’ve knocked on wood.

Lena locked her car and was about to reach the stairs to enter her building when her spider-sense went off. Her hand hesitated over the handle.

“Hope?” She whispered. She stepped back and walked towards her car as if she had forgotten something.

“There appears to be two armed men in the stairwell and two armed men around the corner. There is a black van with a person in the driver’s seat and a suspicious figure in the back,” her AI reported. Well fuck. Hope cut some of the white noise out from the earpiece so Lena could hear.

“What the fuck is she doing?” She heard one voice question.

“I don’t know. Stay put, follow the plan,” another voice hissed.

Before she could even make it to her car, the door swung open and a guy pointed a gun at her. She could handle this.

“May I help you?” She stepped towards him and saw him hesitate.

“Actually, Ms. Luthor, you can. We have a bone to pick with that Spider, and we know you know her. If you tell us who she is, we won’t harm you.” He was wearing a ski mask, but Lena could tell he was smirking. She rolled her eyes.

“Honestly. You’re just wasting my time.”

Before he could even pull the trigger, Lena grabbed the gun and swung at his face. He grabbed his nose in pain and she stomped on his foot then hit him upside the head with the weapon, effectively knocking him out. The three other goons who were hiding came out and raised their guns.

“We just want the spider bitch. We’ll forget this ever happened if you bring her to us.” They slowly approached her and Lena’s fight or flight instincts were flaring.

“Sorry, that’s not going to happen.”

When the first guy swung at her, she easily dodged it. He tried again but she grabbed his arm and flipped him easily on the ground. The other two charged at her but her spider-sense was helping her dodge all these attacks. Since she was so focused on her two attackers, she didn’t notice the third guy from the van come up behind her until he slammed a rifle to her head.

  
  


“Wakey, wakey,” a voice cooed. She felt her face being slapped slightly and she startled awake.

The first thing she noticed was that she was in a warehouse. The second thing she noticed was that she was chained to a chair. The third thing she noticed was the aching feeling in her head. Her thoughts were muddled and she had to fight to keep her eyes open.

“All we wanted was the Spider. She broke up our drug deal and it cost me a fortune. Then I realized that we have Lena Luthor. You are so much better than a stupid bug. We hold you for ransom and get all the money we need, no problem.” He trailed the tip of his pistol down her face.

“What’d you do to me?” Her head was still feeling funny, though it was different from a hangover.

“We drugged you up, of course. Put up a heck of a fight for someone who sits in an office all day.” He squatted down in front of her. She spat in his face and quicker than her brain could process, he punched her across the face, pistol still in hand. She could taste the blood in her mouth.

“Boss, it’s ready.” The man in front of her nodded and looked back at Lena.

“Be a good girl for me, won’t you? I’ve got to take care of something real quick.” He stood up and walked out, leaving Lena alone in the warehouse.

“Hope?” She mumbled. The room was spinning and her stomach hurt. She was going to be sick.

“Yes, Boss?”

“Contact Kara Danvers and update her on the situation.”

“Right away.”

Lena took a deep breath. Of course, she had to deal with Morgan Edge and attempted kidnapping. If they really knew that she was close with the superheroes, then why would they take her? Some people are obviously stupid. Of course, they were going to come for her (well not Spider-Woman. But they didn’t need to know that).

Just as her head started to clear, Supergirl broke through the doors and rushed over to the damsel in distress. She had a wild look in her eye and broke the chains as if they were made of paper.

“Are you okay? What the hell happened? I already took care of everything, Maggie is on the way.” Supergirl gently touched Lena’s lip. “Did they do this to you? Why didn’t you get away?”

“‘M fine,” she promised. “They caught me in the parking garage and I wasn’t careful. Drugged me up. I’m sorry. I told Hope to get you though.” Even if she wasn’t drugged up, she wasn’t sure if she was going to risk her secret identity by trying to escape. It was already risky enough she took out two of their men while she was wearing heels and a dress.

Kara sighed. “I’m glad you did. Come on, I’ll take you home.” Lena didn’t protest when she was scooped up in her friend’s arm. She didn’t even complain when they were in the air.

“Aren’t I supposed to give a statement or something?” She wondered as they landed outside of her house. She opened the door with the biometric scanner and pulled Kara inside with her.

“You can tell Maggie about it later. Sit down, I’ll get something for your face.” The vigilante nodded and sat down on the couch as Kara went into the kitchen. To be honest, it didn’t actually hurt much. She felt fine. A little shaken up, but fine nevertheless. She had to thank her fast metabolism for clearing the effects of whatever they put in her. Soon, the blonde returned with a frozen bag of peas wrapped in a paper towel.

Lena pouted as she put it on her cut lip. “It’s cold.”

“Don’t be a baby about it,” Supergirl poked fun of. “That’s your fault for allowing yourself to get kidnapped.”

“I wasn’t about to start doing flips and shit while I’m wearing this-” she gestured to her outfit- “and give away my secret identity. Not all of us have a secret organization that backs us up, you know.”

“I’m sorry, you’re right. How about I order take out and we watch Netflix?” They had done it so many times at Kara’s, but never at Lena’s. She suddenly felt self-conscious about her home.

“I’m craving Thai. While you’re ordering, I’ll get you a change of clothes. I figure being in a cheerleading outfit gets uncomfortable.” She winked as she headed for her room. She heard the superhero grumbling about how it’s  _ not a cheerleading outfit, Lena. We all can’t have a million different outfits like you. _ The vigilante laughed.

The spider that bit her changed practically everything about Lena except her height. She was still smaller than Kara (which she was teased about endlessly) so the clothes that the vigilante picked out were not her fault. Since Sam didn’t exactly know Lena’s size, she had bought the spider merch in bigger sizes just in case. And that was exactly what she was going to give Supergirl.

“It should be here in about half an hour,” Kara called out. Lena hummed in acknowledgment and finished changing before giving her friend her change of clothes. “Really?”

“It’s not my fault my small clothes don’t fit you.” In a gust of wind, Kara had changed and returned with her costume folded. “I was thinking, and it’s totally okay for you to say no, but I could make you a new suit. If you wanted.”

The alien’s step faltered. “Really?”

The vigilante shrugged. “Yeah. I can even use some nanotechnology if you want so you don’t have to change all the time, something like my spider. Though, perhaps I can find a way to integrate it into your glasses. How many pairs of glasses do you go through anyways? I see you rip them off your face dramatically all the time.”

Kara blushed and sat down next to Lena on the couch. “I think you should be asking how many shirts do I go through. I tend to just rip them open, so the nanotechnology sounds great. I really like my button-ups.”

“They do look rather cute on you. As you know, I have some Kryptonite. Lately, I’ve been buying all that I can and destroying it. With your permission, I was wondering if I could experiment with it. Figure out a way to make the new suit Kryptonite proof. Of course, it’s in my lab upstairs in a lead box, and no one knows about it. Not Jess or Sam. Just Hope and I.”

Kara shifted a bit so she could fully face Lena. “I trust you. If you think experimenting with it will help you find a way to make the suit resistant to it, then I’m all in.”

Lena took her hand and shyly smiled. “It might take me a while, but I promise it’s going to be up on my list of priorities. Right now, I’m making another suit to mimic the work that I’m doing with Dr. Octavius.”

“Didn’t you just finish making a suit? And how’s that going by the way? Is it finished?”

“Yes, but there’s always room for improvement. We’ve actually just finished everything. Right now, we’re in the testing stages. With the help I got from Gideon, I found a way to make the circuit efficient enough to control the arms. We’re running tests right now but…”

They spent the rest of the night cuddled up on the couch talking and eating. Netflix was simply background noise as Lena went on to explain her latest scientific discoveries and Kara opened up a bit about Krypton. It was a perfect bubble where the two of them forgot about the world around them.

Lena put down the tablet that was broadcasting Edge’s latest stunt when Kara walked in. “Hey. I hate that sentient bottle of cheap cologne. Did you know?”

“No. James was blindsided too. He thinks it’s his fault for getting in Edge’s face.” Kara sat down on the chair across Lena’s desk and looked defeated. Lena desperately wanted that look on her face to go away.

“Only he would spend that kind of money on a grudge. Do you think the shareholders will listen to Cat?”

“Uh, well, Cat had to put her shares in a blind trust when she became Press Secretary. But I did some digging and Edge has been quietly buying up shares until today, when he put a tender offer to the majority shareholders.” Of course he has. The CEO stood up and started to pour two cups of water to try and distract herself.

“Hey! No more free press,” she joked. Kara gave her a lopsided smile.

“You’ve invested in his portfolio though. So, I figured if you could talk to him, you might be able to be persuasive.” She handed Kara a cup of water and drank from her own to give her a second to think.

“Edge doesn’t respect any opinions that aren’t his own. Especially not a woman’s,” Lena informed.

“Lena. You helped Supergirl save the world. And you saved another world from Nazi invaders. How hard could one stubborn sexist be?” Kara looked at her with those big, honest eyes and Lena caved. She would do anything to make her friend happy.

“All right, I’ll see what I can do,” she conceded.

“Thanks,” Kara beamed.

Lena’s smile faltered a bit as she said, “What are friends for?”

They chatted aimlessly for a bit until the tablet announced, “Breaking news this morning. There are reports of a burglary in Old Town-”

Lena reached for the golden spider she kept under her table. “Wanna go stop a burglary together?”

Kara watched in awe as the suit materialized over Lena’s body. “I am so looking forward to you making me a new suit.” She zoomed out of the office to change. Spider-Woman leaped off her balcony and shot a web into the air as she freefell. Supergirl caught it and together they rushed to Old Town.

-

Lena stepped into Morgan Edge’s office and stopped a golf ball that rolled towards her. Was he seriously playing mini-golf in his office? Seriously?

“Lena, twice in my office in as many days,” he sing-songed. “People are gonna start talking.” She wanted to throw up in her mouth from the innuendo.

“Morgan, you have all of the charisma of a Michael Douglas movie from the ‘90s.”

Edge seemed more entertained by her comment. “You didn’t come all this way just to flatter me, did you?”

“I came because I have a proposition.” Straight to the point. At least this way she could get out of here faster.

“Oh, good. I do like propositions.” He playfully raised his eyebrows and Lena remembered to school her face. 

“Now, you know I don’t agree with your waterfront development. But you are still the best developer in National City,” she started.

“Let me get you a drink before that compliment leaves a bad taste in your mouth.” Her eye twitched.

“Your work is why I have invested in your portfolio and why I intend to invest more,” she continued.

Edge stood up and put his golf club to the side. “Let me guess. You want me to stay away from CatCo?”

“Oh, come on, Morgan. CatCo isn’t good business for you and you know it. There’s a city out there that needs to be rebuilt. That’s what you’re good at, focus on that,” she tried to persuade. Lena could care less about who got CatCo, but she definitely didn’t want it to get into Edge’s hands.

“You know, you can take the Luthor logo off your name, but people still aren’t gonna trust you. And that’s a really easy sentiment to reinforce once I have CatCo’s editorial under my control. People love to believe what they read.” That slimy git. She clenched her fists and made sure her face revealed no emotions.

Lena shook her head. “Using CatCo to defame your enemies and promote your own agenda. That’s despicable.”

“Oh, no. That’s good business.” He had a predatory smile. Fine, if that’s the game he wanted to play, she’d play. There was still 24 hours until the final offer would be made.

“I’ll see myself out,” Lena declared. Then, she turned on her heel and walked out, head held high. She still needed to finish that speech for tomorrow and a little bit of scheming to do.

“Ladies and gentlemen of National City, please welcome the chairwoman and CEO of L-Corp, Lena Luthor,” the mayor announced. The crowd started applauding and Jess patted Lena’s back encouragingly.

“Good afternoon, National City,” she started. Lena looked at the crowd and smiled when she spotted Ruby and Sam in the very front. “I am so honored to be able to present this statue of our hometown hero and the amazing Spider-Woman. I know what some of you must be thinking. It’s a cold day in hell, a Luthor praising a Kryptonian. But ever since I came here, she has been an inspiration to me. She’s been a mentor, and most importantly, she’s been a friend…” she zoned off as she mechanically delivered the speech she had memorized. Once she finished, the crows cheered louder and the clapping seemed genuine.

“Thank you for those inspiring words, Ms.Luthor. I have a speech myself, but I doubt it’s as impressive.” Lena walked off the stage and Jess led her behind a building.

Lena started to hurriedly take off the three-piece suit she was wearing. Since this was a special occasion, she decided to wear the first suit she ever made (and that’s what the statue was based on) and she wore it under her black suit. Once it was off, Jess handed her the mask and gloves.

“Your speech was brilliant, by the way,” Jess complimented as Lena put on the mask.

“Thank you, Jess.” The assistant put all the clothing into the back she had and Lena webbed over to a nearby roof. Supergirl was already on the stage looking for her. Lena shot a web onto the rod above her head and swung over. Everyone was cheering. She used a web to hang upside down.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s unveil these statues,” the mayor exclaimed. The curtain fell to reveal them. Supergirl was mid-flight and Spider-Woman was in the middle of a web swing. “Any words from our superheroes?”

Lena looked over to Kara and realized how close they really were. Even though she was hanging upside down, they were eye-level with each other. 

“Kiss!” Someone yelled from the crowd. Lena turned her head and saw that it was Ruby. “Kiss!” She repeated.

“Yeah! Kiss her!” Sam goaded. Soon enough, the whole crowd was chanting.

“Lay one on me. I promise I don’t bite,” Lena winked. Her heart was racing and she was very thankful for the lead in this suit so Kara couldn’t hear her erratic heartbeat.

“As long as you don’t mind.”

Time slowed down. Supergirl reached for the bottom of Spider-Woman’s mask and gently pulled it down until it rested just over her nose. Her hands shook slightly as she held Lena’s face and leaned in. Their lips met each other and Lena had to focus on not accidentally letting go and falling.

Lena had thought about what it would be like kissing Kara. Multiple times in many different situations. But the actual feeling? It was euphoric. Kara’s lips were as soft as clouds and her fingers that settled on the vigilante’s face seemed to burn. Lena’s been kissed before, but nothing compared to this. The longer the kiss went on, the more she felt as if her body was on fire. It was as if fireworks were going off. Her whole body was buzzing. And the people were screaming and- the people were screaming!

As if she was snapped back to reality, Lena pulled back from the kiss and noticed people running around in panic. “Hope?” She pulled her mask back down and noticed Kara was just getting her bearings back as well.

“It seems as if there was an explosion, Boss,” Hope informed.

“Patch yourself into our comms and help the people here while I figure out what’s going on,” Supergirl commanded. Spider-Woman nodded and leaped into action to help people out of the way.

“Testing, testing.”

“Woah, is that Spider-Woman? On our comms?” Winn gasped.

“Yes. Focus, Winn,” Maggie chided. Lena smiled and continued to help guide people away from the cracks that were starting to appear in the ground.

Another explosion happened and Lena heard Ruby shout out in pain. The metahuman sprinted over to her friend and found her crushed under a tower. She practically tore it off and yanked the young girl into a hug.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Lena fretted as she looked the girl up and down. Hope didn’t detect any damages except some bruising.

“I’m fine, thank you Spider-Woman.” Lena nodded and led Ruby back to Sam.

“Spider-Woman, it’s Supergirl! She’s not responding!” Maggie shouted into the comms. Using Hope, Lena dove into the water to find Kara floating helplessly. 

Since this was her first suit, it wouldn’t protect her from the water. She had to rely on her own skills to hold her breath. When she found Supergirl, the vigilante lifted her mask and kissed her to transfer what little air she had into her. The hero became alert and zipped off to deal with whatever was causing the explosions while Lena slowly sank. Before she could start to drown, the green martian flew in and grabbed her.

“Thanks,” Lena managed to choke out. He patted her back to help the water escape her lungs.

“Thank you for saving her.” He nodded at her then flew off. Spider-Woman sprawled out on the roof of the building. She’d rest for five minutes then she’d head back to L-Corp.

-

Lena sat at her desk, two hours after the waterfront disaster, and stared at the computer screen. She did it. $750 million seemed like a small price to pay. She heard footsteps and saw Kara rush in.

“Sorry I wasn’t here earlier, I had to finish up at the DEO,” she explained.

Lena waved it off. “It’s not a problem. So, I spoke to Edge.” She wasn’t quite ready to talk about the kiss yet.

“Please tell me you convinced him not to buy CatCo,” Kara practically pleaded.

“Well, you can’t convince a bully like that of anything.”

“So what, CatCo’s gone?” Kara’s face looked absolutely devastated.

Lena looked down and pouted a bit. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea? “No. I bought it.”

“You’re kidding.” Kara’s eyes went wide. “Are you kidding?” She looked deeply impressed and the smile she gave Lena was worth all the money in the world.

“Pretty badass, right? And I was hoping maybe you could break the story. Seeing as you  _ are _ National City’s best reporter.” Kara blushed and was about to say something until they both heard someone stomping towards them.

“You’re more of a lunatic than your brother is,” Edge declared as he stormed in.

Kara stepped in front of Lena as if to protect her from him.“Excuse me?” 

“I could ruin you,” Edge threatened, completely ignoring the blonde.

Lena crossed her arms. “You are dangerously close to being thrown out by security.”

“You know what? I’m gonna go and let you handle  _ this _ .” Lena had never heard Kara sound so disgusted before (actually she has, once before, when she made her try kale). When she saw the reporter take off her glasses, the CEO smiled.

“You are gonna regret, so regret, the day you screwed me. I sure hope you enjoyed yourself. Because now you have all of my attention.” Edge stepped up into her space to try and seem threatening, but little did he know, she had faced worse.

“Oh, Edge, like every woman who’s ever had all your attention, I couldn’t care less.” She smiled sweetly at him and almost laughed out loud at his expression.

“Ms. Luthor, you finished with him?” Supergirl spoke from the balcony.

“He’s all yours.” Supergirl put her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out. God, she was adorable.

“What do you think you’re gonna do?” Edge asked. Kara smirked a little before grabbing him and flying out.

With a fond smile, Lena walked over to her couch and waited for her friend to return. The building was mostly empty today because Lena had given everyone who worked on Saturday’s the day off. She came in herself to finish a couple of proposals to the board.

“Hopefully he leaves you alone now,” Supergirl announced as she flew in.

“What’d you do to him?” Lena was actually burning with curiosity. Did she threaten him? Dangle him off a roof?

Supergirl walked over to the couch and plopped down. “Let’s just say he’s swimming with the fishes.”

Lena leaned forward and stared at cute Kara’s face. “Did you kill him?” She whispered incredulously. 

“What? No!” Kara vehemently shook her head. “I left him on top of cargo on a ship at sea. Sucks to be him!” Could she get any cuter?

“You’re too cute for your own good.” Lena licked her lips. It was now or never. “So about the kiss earlier.”

“Oh, yeah.” Kara’s face turned super pink. “It was a good kiss. Nice kiss. You’re good at kissing. Not that I’ve been thinking about it! Well, not that I have not been not thinking about it. I mean-”

“I thought it was a good kiss, too.” Lena’s palms were sweating but she reached out for Kara’s hand regardless. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. Sara convinced me to tell you and I’ve been holding it off because this is actually pretty nerve-wracking. Um. I have feelings for you. Romantic feelings. Like I want to date you and call you my girlfriend and kiss you kind of feelings,” she admitted in one breath. She had her eyes closed and her shoulders were tense as she awaited Kara’s response.

“Oh, Lee.” Kara squeezed her hand and Lena opened her eyes. “I have feelings for you too. I’ve had them for a long time now, actually. I just never wanted to say anything. And then you were telling Supergirl about this amazing girl and you sounded so happy, I didn’t want to ruin that.” She stopped talking and looked at Lena. “That girl you were talking about. It was about… me?”

“Yeah.” Lena looked away. She felt as if her face were on fire.

“Oh thank Rao. So can I kiss you again?” Lena nodded and leaned in. As their lips met, Careless Whisper started playing.

“Hope!” Lena felt completely embarrassed but Kara was laughing.

“I’m proud of you, Boss. Congratulations.” The lights brightened and Lena could only smile. 

“Thank you, Hope.” The billionaire turned to Kara. “So do you want to be my girlfriend? I’m telling you now though, I’m in a very serious relationship with Spider-Woman.”

Kara playfully punched her in the shoulder. “I suppose I can date her, too. In my opinion, she’s kind of childish. Although, I think she might be a better kisser.” Lena raised an eyebrow at that.

“Oh yeah?” Supergirl hummed in agreement. “Guess I’ll have to prove you wrong then.”

It wasn’t until Kara’s stomach rumbled that they stopped making out and decided to get dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might've been all over the place who knows? My brain is frazzled. But yes. SuperCorp (Or SuperSPider lmao) are finally together. Some fluff is in order. AND PAM FROM HR haha. She'll be included in this story. Should Jess work at L-Corp or the DEO? And what are your thoughts on smut?
> 
> [BTS to this fic :)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22890730)


	12. One eye open, one eye closed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spider Squad and some Supercorp cuteness. Moving things around in the background again ;p

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update. I put more effort into this fic than I do in my university work lmao. I decided to cut this chapter in half since it was already pretty long as it is. Hopefully, I'll have the next part up tomorrow :)

It was nearing 10 at night and Lena Luthor was still in her office. She had sent both Sam and Jess home hours ago promising she’d leave soon, but alas, there she was. Turns out buying a whole media empire was actually a ton of work she was not ready for. Lena was a science person - she knew practically nothing about journalism and the media. She’d avoided it for most of her life, after all. Yet, there was no way that she was going to allow Morgan Edge to ruin her girlfriend’s job.

Girlfriend. It had only been two days, but the word and association made Lena’s insides fill with warmth. They hadn’t had a chance to go on a date yet since the CEO was busy assimilating into CatCo and figuring things out. It didn’t help that it was nearing the end of June so she had to look through L-Corp’s numbers and make sure everything was intact. Sam was a great help, but ultimately, she was responsible for the company and she would rather triple check everything just in case.

“Thought you’d still be here,” a voice called out. Lena’s attention moved from the computer to the stranger in the doorway of her office.

“Harry?” He had stepped into the office and smiled widely. “Hey! It’s about time!”

The young man chuckled. “We would have been here sooner if your city wasn’t attacked by aliens!” They shared a tight hug and sat on the couch. “You’d think that we left all the alien business behind when we were leaving Metropolis. Turns out we’re going into the thick of it,” he joked.

“You really are,” she mumbled. She then cleared her throat. “I’m so glad you’re here, though! Where are you guys staying?”

“Father insists on living in a mansion in Beverly Hills, you know how he is. I decided on getting a penthouse in the city, only a couple of miles from Oscorp.” Norman Osborn was a man of wealth and he liked people knowing that, so he was often extravagant with his money. “I’m still feeling a bit jet-lagged, but I wanted to personally invite you to Oscorp’s gala this Friday. You’re welcome to bring a guest and your CFO is invited as well.”

Lena read over the paper and nodded to herself. She’d have to get a new dress. Perhaps she could go shopping with Kara to get them both outfits. “What is your father up to these days?” It was an innocent enough question, but Harry knew the truth behind it.

“He’s still the same alien hating asshat that he was before,” Harry grumbled. “He has a new partner, some dude named Dr.  Troncs Courn. Apparently, he knew your brother. They’re going to focus on cross-species genetics for whatever reason. I fear they have ulterior motives, so that’s why I came along. Not like Father cares either way.”

“If they think they have my support, then they’re wrong. Just because they worship Lex doesn’t mean I want to work with them.” Lena put a hand on Harry’s knee. “You’re welcomed at L-Corp anytime, though. I’ve actually turned this company into a completely different direction - we work on renewable energy and ways to save the planet from global warming. The technology stuff is on hold for now. And I know you have a bleeding heart for saving the world in whatever way you can, so if it’s not too big of a scandal, you can work here.”

Harry beamed at that. “Maybe Father will finally pay attention to me if I work for you. I’ve actually been thinking of setting up research stations. It was intended for Metropolis, but it can also work in National City. It’d just be small labs on the roofs throughout the city to like check the amount of smog in the city or looking for chemical leaks. Things like that. I’m thinking of presenting it to the board. Father might just shoot it down, though.”

Norman Osborn had a strong distaste for his son, just as Lillian had a strong distaste for Lena. The two bonded over the fact that their living families hated them and how they desperately just wanted approval from them. Lena had managed to stop trying to impress her mother, but it seemed as if Harry still wanted his father’s approval, even though their views on life were drastically different.

“If he denies it, I’ll fund it. It sounds like a good cause and it falls under what we’re doing already. My board will agree if yours disagrees.” At their time at MIT, Lena had really looked up to Harry. He became an older brother of sorts and he was there when Lex wasn’t. They helped each other out of tough spots and she genuinely respected him (so much so that she was willing to be nice to Norman for his sake).

“That means a lot to me, Lee.” He smiled and then yawned. “I should get going. Let’s get together soon and catch up! I want to meet your friends! Maybe I’ll try to steal them for myself since I’m all on my lonesome here,” he winked.

Lena stood up and started to walk him to the elevator. “I’m warning you now, my friends are not the type of people we used to hang out with. They are … an acquired taste.”

“Now I’m even more intrigued. Text me when you can. And don’t stay too late.” They shared one last hug before he stepped into the elevator heading down.

The CEO smiled and walked back into her office. It was Monday, so she had plenty of time to go shopping. She sat back in her seat to finish her papers. She wanted to patrol some tonight, but since it was already late, she decided on doing some lab work when she got home.

Just as she was packing her bag for the night, she heard the swoosh of a cape and the soft thumping of boots hitting the ground.

“Supergirl, what a surprise.” She placed her bag on the table and turned to face her girlfriend.

“I saw your office light still on and I wanted to check on you.” The hero walked into the office and looked Lena up and down. “Yep, still the most beautiful person on the planet.” The younger woman blushed.

“Come here,” she whispered. Kara happily walked over and kissed her girlfriend with enthusiasm. “I was actually about to leave.” Because she couldn’t help herself and she could do it as often as she wanted, Lena kissed Kara again. The blonde smiled through the kiss and intertwined their fingers together.

“Would you like a lift home?” Supergirl stepped back and waggled her eyebrows while opening her arms.

“You know I hate flying.” Regardless of that fact, she happily went into her girlfriend’s strong embrace. “One of these days I’m going to take you web-swinging with me.” She held on tight as they lifted into the air.

“Sounds like fun!” The Kryptonian then shot off in the direction of Lena’s house. “By the way, I’ve noticed that you wear that watch every day. Is it important?”

“It doesn’t have any significance, but it does transform into a web-shooter when I activate it. Why?” With their super hearing, it was easy to speak over the winds.

Supergirl landed in front of the door and gently put her down. “My friends all have watches that connect straight to me if they’re in trouble. I know you can take care of yourself, but I would really feel better if you had one, too.”

“If you give it to me, I have no problem fixing it into my watch.” They both lingered in the doorway, neither one wanting to leave yet. “You remember my friend, Harry Osborn, right? Well, his father is having a gala this Friday and I’m inviting you to be my plus one if you’re available. I was hoping maybe on Wednesday we can go shopping for it? We can make a proper date of it and have dinner afterward,” Lena bribed.

“You wanna go public with our relationship? Won’t it have repercussions since you now own CatCo?” Lena hadn’t really thought about that.

“Oh please, it’s not a scandal or anything. I won’t allow you to write any more articles about me though, sorry. Plus, I think the news is still buzzing about the super couple.” There had been at least a dozen articles talking about the romance between the two heroes.

Supergirl blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Alex told me that she’s proud of me. She didn’t think I would ever confess my feelings to you and she definitely didn’t think I would date Spider-Woman either. Maggie is enjoying the fact that people think I’m dating two people.”

“Although so far it’s only confirmed that Supergirl and Spider-Woman are dating, they think that they, Kara Danvers, and I are in a polyamorous relationship.” Lena reached up and kissed her firmly on the lips and heard a camera snap. “Though, I don’t think that this is helping that rumor either.”

“Let’s not say anything, but I may go out of my way to be seen kissing both you and Spider-Woman,” Kara said innocently.

Lena smirked. “I may go out of my way to post pictures with Spider-Woman and she may seek out a specific CatCo reporter and kiss her in front of all her reporter friends.”

The corner of Kara’s lips rose and her eyes shone with amusement. “I think your evil Luthor genes are taking over,” she teased lightly while running a hand over Lena’s bare arm.

Lena lowered her voice and went on her tip-toes to whisper into the taller woman’s ear, “If you don’t get out of here, I might show you what else the Luthor genes have to offer.” When she stepped back, she bit her lip suggestively and winked. Supergirl’s face turned scarlet.

“There’s an, um, emergency. Somewhere. I’ve got to go.” Before the alien could speed off, Lena grabbed her arm and brought them in for one last kiss for the night. It became a full-body kiss. Kara grabbed her partner by the hips, brought her body flush against hers, and kissed her deeply as if her life depended on it. Perks of being an enhanced metahuman and an alien was that they could hold their breaths for quite a while. The camera was going off, the flash illuminating the front of the house.

“Go save the day, Supergirl.” With a giddy smile, the hero nodded and flew off into the night.

“Have a good night, Boss?” Hope asked in a tone that sounded similar to amusement once Lena entered the house.

“You’ve got to stop spying on me,” she accused her AI. The lights flickered to emulate laughter. “I’m going to add carbon nanotubes to your suit so once you get out there, you can climb on the walls as I do. Also, I’ve been working on a prototype to make the suit almost look invisible. Right now, it’s just a shimmer, but it’ll work for now. With all the attention Spider-Woman is receiving, I can’t afford to be seen leaving L-Corp without entering or leaving the house. At least with this, no one will be able to tell where I came from.”

“You’re brilliant, Boss! I will set an alarm for 2 am so you don’t overwork yourself.” Lena smiled fondly to herself and went to the fridge to heat up some leftovers while she worked.

“Sorry, I’m late. There was a cat stuck in a tree.” Lena landed onto the patio and sat across from her girlfriend (she was never not going to smile when she thought about the word).

“Did you take a picture?” Kara inquired as she grabbed the food out of the Big Belly Burger bag.

“Of course. Hope?” Her AI then sent the picture to the alien whose face lit up at the fluffy animal.

Spider-Woman took off her gloves and lifted her mask to eat. They were the only ones outside and no one seemed to notice the duo yet. She hated many things about the spider bite, but a lot of good has come from it as well. At the top of the list was her ability to eat all the junk food she wanted and still be in shape.

They chatted about work and Kara filled her in on what Cat Grant usually asked of her, tasks she did daily, anything that would be useful. Lena was sure to keep her talking to a minimum since people started to notice she was there. Within no time, there was a small group standing outside of the patio and staring at them through the window with their phones out.

“Do they think that we don’t see them? Or do they just not care?” Lena asked after she slid her mask back down. She reached for her gloves and started to put them back on.

“I think they are starstruck. Spider-Woman doesn’t visit CatCo often.” Kara laced their fingers together on top of the table.

Lena shrugged. “I’ll be here more often.” When she winked, Kara laughed and adjusted her glasses nervously.

“This is my favorite suit, did you know that?” The vigilante shook her head. “The other ones have lead, so I can’t hear your heartbeat. I’ve got to admit, if I could hear your heart before, I would’ve known right away. It’s unique,” Kara whispered so no one could overhear.

“Is it weird we listen to each other’s heartbeats? I have yours memorized and I can usually tell what you’re feeling depending on the change,” Lena admitted.

Kara smiled and her heart skipped a beat. “I was getting to know yours but then it changed to the double beat, which I’m assuming was as a result of-” she gestured to the suit- “But I’m proud to say I think I’ve got it down by now again.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a crush on me,” the younger woman cooed. Kara rolled her eyes and squeezed her hand lightly.

“There’s a car chase happening downtown that could use your help, Boss,” Hope announced.

“I’ve got to get going, duty calls.” They stood up and walked over to the railing. Lena hopped onto it and crouched so she was eye-level to the hero. “Come to my house later so we can do some lab work?”

“Of course, I’ll bring the stuff and some food. How does Mexican sound?” Spider-Woman nodded. Kara gave a chaste kiss to her though the mask and watched her swing away.

Smiling, Kara walked back into the office and forgot about the group of people who witnessed the whole thing.

“So you, Spider-Woman, and Supergirl are in a poly relationship?”

“Is Spider-Woman cheating on Supergirl with you?”

Similar questions were repeated over and over again. She knew the goal was to mess with the media, but she was starting to get sensory overload.

“Hey! Get back to work!” James called out. Everyone scattered and Kara sighed in relief.

“Thanks, James.” They started walking to his office and she was aware of everyone whispering behind her back.

“A source gave me a picture of Supergirl kissing Lena Luthor this morning,” he started. Kara awkwardly sat down on the couch while the boss sat at his desk. “Then I see you kissing Spider-Woman. Are you cheating on her with the Luthor? Is she forcing you to do something? Blackmailing you?”

“Woah, it’s not like that James. You know Lena is nothing but good, she is not a bad person! I don’t know how many times I’ve had this conversation with you and Clark!” She took a deep breath. “I’m in a relationship. With both of them.”

James seemed unconvinced. “CatCo hasn’t written an article on it yet. I could interview Supergirl and Spider-Woman, maybe Lena. Put it all out there before the fans start coming after you for being a homewrecker.” They hadn’t even thought about that option.

“I’ll talk to Spider-Woman about it, but I don’t think Lena will agree. She’s a private person.”  _ And I don’t want her near you _ , Kara added mentally.

“I’ll have Elizabeth on stand by to interview the heroes when they are ready then.” The woman nodded and exited the office into her own secret one.

It took about an hour to pick an outfit for the event on Friday. Lena was being extra picky about the kind of dress she wanted whereas Kara was fitted for a suit and agreed with the first choice. Now, they were both at HomeTown Buffet challenging each other to see who could eat the most.

“I’m thinking of telling Alex.” Kara looked up from her plate and had some mac’n’cheese dripping down her chin. It was a crime how adorable she looked. Lena reached over with a napkin and wiped her face. “I’m thinking of telling Alex,” she repeated.

“Tell her what?”

“About,” she looked around and noticed people staring, “what I do in my free time.” Kara seemed to understand and her eyebrows furrowed.

“Lena, you don’t have to.” Their hands connected from across the table and she felt her palms start to sweat.

“I know.” Of course she knew. She didn’t even talk to Alex much, only when their paths crossed and even then, they usually didn’t interact. “She’s your sister and I know you love her a lot. I also know you hate lying to her.” She played with the food on her plate with her free hand. “You told Jess when you had no reason to. Sam knows too. I think it’s fair I at least tell your sister for now.” Eventually, she’d tell Winn too.

“I know how hard it is for you to trust people. You really don’t have to, Lena.”

“I want to. I mean, you and Maggie already know, so it’s only fair she knows too. It also wouldn’t hurt having a doctor on the team. We can’t just go rushing off to Caitlin every time something happens, right? She means a lot to you, and she hasn’t killed me yet, so…” she trailed off. The way Kara was looking at her made her feel like the most loved person in the universe.

“Okay. Thank you.”

“I hate to say this, but you win. I can’t possibly eat anymore,” Lena admitted. She had 11 plates and Kara was on her 12th.

“Just don’t go into hibernation,” Kara poked fun of her.

The vigilante groaned. “Maggie has got to stop telling people about that. One of these days she’s going to find herself webbed up in a cocoon with no one around so she has to wait until the webs dissolve.”

“No wonder people are scared of you,” the alien joked in mock horror as she continued to eat her food. Lena read through and responded to emails while Kara finished. She suspected that if she wasn’t a Luthor, they would’ve been kicked out long ago because of how much food they ate.

The drive to Alex’s apartment was quiet. Lena’s playlist played and her thoughts drifted to the car. She had made designs for a self-driving car a couple of months ago and now she was starting to wonder if she could somehow program Hope into a car so she could drive. If Lena was going to trust any sort of robot, it’d be the one she made. She even got rid of Siri on her iPhone and replaced her with Hope. She was not taking any chances.

Maggie was the one to open the door. “‘Sup, lovebirds. What are you doing here?” She opened the door wider and the couple entered.

“Is Alex here?” Lena asked as she placed a bottle of wine on the counter.

“Yeah, she’s in the shower. Why?”

“Lena’s going to tell her about, you know,” Kara winked. Lena face-palmed and wondered how all of National City didn’t know Supergirl’s secret identity by now. She wasn’t exactly slick.

Maggie grabbed two wine cups. “She’s going to need this after you tell her, good call Luthor.” That didn’t calm Lena’s nerves at all. It actually made them worse. When she was nervous, the feeling of hiding away in a corner gnawed at her. She stared at the corner of the kitchen longingly. “I’m going to tell her we have guests, be right back.”

Kara and Lena exchanged looks and stepped away from the kitchen counter. Just in case it was contaminated. Who knows what those two did in their free time.

“Hey, Kara!” Alex engulfed her sister in a hug. “Hey, Lena.”

“I’m Spider-Woman.” Best to get straight to the point. “Just wanted to let you know.”

Alex stared at her. And stared. It didn’t help that everyone in the room was silent while they awaited a reaction.

“So Kara doesn’t have game?” Maggie laughed loudly and Lena followed suit while Kara pouted.

“I think you’ve got plenty of game, darling,” Lena promised the reporter. She placed a kiss atop of her knuckles and at that Kara smiled. “You’re not surprised or mad or worried?” She had been expecting some sort of reaction, not this nonchalant act.

The DEO agent shrugged and took a sip of her drink. “I’m not necessarily surprised. I wouldn’t say I was suspected you were the Spider, but I mean it kind of makes sense. How fast you and Maggie became friends and Kara dating both Lena Luthor and Spider-Woman. You do cover your tracks well, though. Like the Daxamite invasion. How’d you pull that off?”

“I’ve got to keep some secrets, don’t I?” Lena coyly smiled. 

“Why don’t you work at the DEO? We can surely use the extra help,” Alex offered. Lena shifted on her feet.

“I have my own secret facility being built. It’ll have a proper med bay and a room for me to train and test myself. I know Winn offered to do things there, but I don’t agree with the things the DEO does.”

Kara frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, for starters the training room uses Kryptonite, right? What if something went wrong and you were stuck in the room while it was on? And the aliens. What do you do when they are captured? Lock them up, for what, forever? I don’t know how well the DEO treats their prisoners, but doesn’t it seem a little unethical to lock them up without trial? Some may be acting out, some may be trying to provide for their families, who knows? And who gets to judge which aliens are good and which are bad? Mon-El caused a lot of damage but he was out free. What about the other aliens who did less and are being punished for it? Not to mention if it’s truly an organization for the extra-normal, why have assault rifles? I just don’t support what they are doing, I’m sorry,” Lena ended her rant. The two Danvers sisters stared at her in shock and Maggie whistled.

“Damn, Luthor!” The detective finished the rest of her drink. “She does have a point, though. Not even us city cops are allowed to carry anything heavier than a pistol.”

Kara seemed uncomfortable. “I thought the aliens were transferred to another facility to try and integrate them back into civilian life?”

Lena shook her head. “They shuffle the prisoners around from base to base. I saw Lillian’s files on it. They tracked certain aliens for Cadmus purposes. Thinking about it, what does the DEO do with metahumans? Sandman was put in your custody. Where is he?” Lena felt nauseous. “What would have happened to me if they thought I was a threat? Would I be put in a cell for the rest of my life leaving my friends and family wondering what happened to me?”

“Sandman is still at the DEO,” Alex answered.

“So it’s true then?” Kara looked at her sister in shock. “I bring them in and they just stay there forever?”

“I never asked J’onn what happens to them when they’re transferred, but I suppose it’s not that far of an assumption. I guess I never really realized what exactly the DEO was doing. I’ll speak to J’onn tomorrow and see what I can do to change what’s happening,” Alex assured.

“I can talk to the captain about asking to capture the metahumans too. I know they are far and between but, sorry Alex, I would rather them face the NCPD than the DEO.” Maggie poured herself another glass and started to drink.

Lena nodded in agreement. “I can hold a meeting with the mayor and captain. I’ll be willing to make anti-metahuman cuffs and things alike to help. Though, I would want the people who carry and know about this stuff to be minimal. I do not want that many people to have the technology to render me useless.”

“Good idea. I’ll text him to see what his thoughts are,” Maggie said as she pulled out her phone. Lena looked over to her girlfriend who remained uncharacteristically silent this whole time.

“I’ve been working there for two years now and I never thought about what happened to them after I dropped them off. Does that make me a bad person?”

Alex rushed to her sister’s side. “No, Kara, it doesn’t. If anything, it falls on me. I’ve been working for the DEO for years now, so it’s my fault for not noticing. I promise I’ll talk to J’onn tomorrow. If anything, you can ask Cat to get an appointment with the President for Supergirl. Surely, it’ll be hard for her to say no to you.”

“Okay. Can you tell J’onn that I don’t want to work there for now? I’ll still be Supergirl and do my duty, but I’d rather not be there right now,” Kara mumbled.

“Yeah, of course.”

“We should get going. Sorry for making this into something heavier,” Lena apologized.

“It’s alright, Luthor. It’s for the greater good anyway,” Maggie reassured. “Gave us a lot to think about.”

“Yeah,” Alex snorted. “Thank you for trusting me with your secret, Lena.”

They said their goodbyes and the couple left the apartment.

“How about we go to my place and cuddle on the couch while we watch a Disney movie?” Lena suggested.

Kara’s face brightened. “I knew you loved my cuddles!” She poked her girlfriend playfully. “Do you have ice cream?”

“Yeah. Come on, I can’t wait to be under the blankets with your insanely warm body heat.” As if to make a point on how cold she was, the Spider shivered and her teeth chattered.

Once in the car, Kara turned the heater on. “Who knew spiders hated the cold so much?” She then smirked. “It’d be a shame if someone with, let’s say, freeze breath accidentally sneezed and cold air went everywhere.”

Lena tensed behind the wheel. “You wouldn’t.”

“Ah, ah, choo!” Kara “sneezed”. The cold air hit the vigilante full on and she squealed. Lena Luthor  _ squealed _ !

“Kara. I swear to God if you do that again, I will web your mouth shut,” she threatened. Whether it was the threat itself or the tone of her voice, Kara tensed up and nodded her head fearfully.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good morning, Ms. Luthor,” Jess greeted her boss. Lena raised her eyebrow in question as she continued her walk to her office. “I have your schedule on your desk already and the meeting with Captain Saenz and Mayor Morrison is set for Saturday at noon.” That was quick.

“Good job, Jess. Anything else?”

“I have my replacement picked out. If you’re ready to meet her, I can have her here at 11 so you can interview her. If you approve, then I’ll have everything ready to go for her to start on Monday.” 

“Very well. This morning I’ll be checking in with each of the departments. While I’m on the R&D floor, I’ll have them ready your office and lab.” Ever since she brought the idea up to her assistant, she started making arrangements for her to work there. The CEO had an office and a personal lab built for Jess so she had privacy in case she wanted to work on vigilante stuff. It was empty but she would have her people put in a desk and the bare minimum equipment in the lab.

Jess smiled as she looked down at her iPad. “You knew I was going to take the job.”

“Of course. You’re brilliant, Jess. If things go smoothly on Saturday, I may even have your first assignment ready.” There was no better person to trust to make anti-metahuman gear than Jess. The vigilante trusted the woman with her life and vice versa. Since Lena would be too busy to work on it personally, she was the next person in line to do it.

“Thank you, Lena. I need to go get Sam’s schedule ready.” With that, the shorter woman was out of the room.

Lena often arrived to work at 7 am and left anywhere from 5 to 8 (though there were times when she was invested in a project where she’d stay until 10 or sometimes 11). Sam would arrive at work around 8-8:30 so she could make Ruby breakfast and drop her off at the babysitter. She would also leave around 5 or 6, depending on the day. Jess was the real hard worker, though. She somehow always arrived to work before her boss (it especially happened after she became Spider-Woman, so she had an inkling Hope notified her when she was leaving her house) and stayed until Lena practically kicked her out. They were all pretty much workaholics, though it wasn’t out of pleasure, just the workload.

The vigilante skimmed through her schedule and noticed her afternoon was packed with meetings. Though, after 5, her schedule was cleared - most likely for the dinner she had arranged so Harry could meet her friends. It was going to be a little get together at her house and she promised she was going to cook. She still had no idea what she was going to make.

Lena went floor by floor, department by department, to check on her employees. It had been almost a month since she last did so since she was so busy and some of them had voiced that. It wasn’t uncommon to see the infamous Luthor walking around L-Corp greeting employees as if she had known them for years (in some cases, that was true). Lately, though, she had been holed in her office and her employees grew concerned. They were happy to see that their boss was out of her office.

“We thought you had forgotten about us,” an older man, Gary, gasped upon seeing her. She used to work in the lab with him back at LuthorCorp. He was one of the few who transferred with her here.

“I have been absolutely swamped with work. I may have forgotten about myself as well.” She sat down across from his desk and a few others walked over.

“I bet. Jess says you rarely leave your office and I don’t even think I’ve seen you in the lab much! Then you go and buy CatCo as if you weren’t already working yourself to the bone,” a younger man, Peter, chided. This was his first year working at L-Corp. He was only 21, but Octavius vouched for him so she hired him. They often worked together on the Dr’s project and she found him to be endearing. Geeky, funny, and he was a “think outside of the box” kind of person.

“I think it has to do with the blonde reporter that we see coming and going all the time,” Gary staged whispered as if it were a conspiracy.

Lena rolled her eyes and stood up. “Okay enough gossip you two,” she lightly scolded but they were smiling. “Walk with me, Peter.” He gulped and followed her. “I finally convinced Jess to work down here. I know you’re Dr. Octavius’s partner, but once our project is done, I was wondering if you wanted to work with her? She’ll be working on projects directly under me and, since I’ve had plenty of time to get to know you, I was wondering if you’d be interested to be her partner.”

Peter stopped in his tracks. “Really? You're keeping me?”

“Only if you’re up to the challenge. I’m known to be very demanding,” she teased. And of course she was going to keep Peter. He graduated from her alma mater with high marks and he was highly intuitive. He had a summer internship at LuthorCorp in high school and he was interested in the company since then. She was grateful that he didn’t share Lex’s views and was happy with the company’s new direction.

“Yes! Yes!” He cheered. He fist-bumped the air and his smile rivaled Kara’s. “I’ve got to tell Aunt May! She is going to be so proud! Oh and MJ of course!” Lena smiled at the beaming person in front of her and weirdly enough her heart swelled as if this was her own child.

“Since I own CatCo now, I might ask your girlfriend for a favor and write an exclusive on a new project I may be doing. Think she would be interested?” She casually asked. Peter seemed over the moon now.

“I don’t understand how the papers can compare you to your brother, I really don’t. Lena Luthor, you are amazing. Do you think this occasion calls for a hug?” He opened his arms hopefully and honestly how could Lena say no to that? She walked forward and hugged the young man.

“Now get to work, no more slacking!” He nodded enthusiastically and ran down the hall. 

She knew the job meant a lot to him and especially so since he took care of his Aunt May. She was in her early 40’s but she hadn’t found work in the city yet. The Parkers had been in National City for roughly a year and she volunteered for different organizations but didn’t have a steady income. If Lena’s idea for FEAST worked out, then she was definitely going to hire her.

“The meeting with Eve Teschmacher is in ten minutes, Boss,” Hope informed her. She had almost forgotten. 

She took the stairs to her floor and put on the most neutral mask she could muster on. Once inside her office, she tightened her ponytail, reapplied her lipstick, and put her thoughts into little boxes. Right now, she had to focus on the person in front of her. Quickly, she read through Jess’s notes to get a sense of the person she was about to meet.

“Ms. Luthor, she is ready,” Jess called out at exactly 11.

“Send her in.” She sat straighter (if that was possible), clasped her hands in front of her on the desk, and tracked Eve’s movements as she took the chair across from her.

“Hello. I’m Eve Teschmacher.” She stuck out her hand and Lena took it while studying the woman. Her eyes raked over her in a calculating manner to try and get a vibe from this person. Her spider-sense was silent and her gut didn’t have any type of reaction. She stared at the woman for a couple of seconds, reveling in the way she was trying not to worm under her gaze.

“Why do you want to work as my assistant? What makes you think you can keep up with my rigorous schedule?” They were questions Jess had already asked her, but Lena needed to gauge her reaction for herself.

Eve’s voice didn’t waiver once, she maintained eye contact, she didn’t fiddle under the unrelentless stare, and her heart didn’t quiver once. So far, so good.

“You lived in North Carolina and went to Yale. How did you end up here?” Eve’s eyes darted to the right. Lena narrowed her eyes and listened to her heart to see if it’ll indicate whether she’s lying or not.

“This is kind of embarrassing,” Eve’s smile turned shy. “My professor often spoke highly of your work and he worked with your brother. He was convinced you were going to change the world and I was so enthralled by the idea I decided to major in engineering. After your brother was arrested, my professor disappeared. We hadn’t talked much after I graduated, but he told me I had the potential to do great. I saw the job opening and I figured that I could do a whole lot, even if it was just as your assistant. If I can help you, and you help the world, then that’s what really matters.” Lena studied her but her heart gave nothing away.

“Who was your professor? Maybe I know him.”

“His name was Curt Connors. Such a nice man. He let me be his TA for one of his classes.” Lena’s face betrayed nothing but her nerves spiked up at that. “Did you know him?”

“I never met the man, but I know of him.” She pursed her lips. “Do you know what kind of work he was doing with Lex?”

Eve shook her head. “He was very hush-hush about everything. I don’t know a thing except that he was very passionate about it.” If Lena hadn’t been so focused on the thudding in her chest, she would’ve noticed Eve’s heartbeat faltering and her spider-sense tingling.

The CEO cleared her throat. “Good thing he was hush-hush, as you put it. The work we do is important and nothing leaves this building without my permission. If I hire you, you will have to sign multiple NDA’s and meet with my lawyers.” Was it a coincidence that she knew the man? That she applied for the job and came out on top despite Jess’s diligent work to only pick the best?

The interview continued for another 13 minutes before Lena made up her mind. Eve was competent and had all the qualifications. Jess didn’t hate her and there were no obvious red flags besides the connection to the illusive Connors. She should hire her to keep an eye on her. She pressed a button on her desk and the adjoining door opened a couple seconds later.

“What’s up?” Sam walked in and noticed the person at the desk. “Yes, Ms. Luthor?” She resisted rolling her eyes.

“This is Eve Teschmacher. Eve, this is my CFO Samantha Arias.” The two shook hands and her friend stood next to the CEO. “You will manage my schedule, but primarily, you’ll be working with her. Will that be an issue?” She asked both people.

Eve smiled easily. “Not at all, Ms. Luthor. I am up to the task, I promise I’ll do my best for both of you.” Lena turned and raised an eyebrow to the taller woman. Sam was still vibe checking her but seemingly found nothing out of the ordinary.

“Will you be okay with running errands for me? Coming in early? Staying late? I have no doubt Jess told you about our schedules and personalities.” Sam was a light person and sometimes a bit aloof, but when it mattered, she could harden and become almost as intimidating as Lena herself.

“Of course. Ms. Luthor arrives, on average, at 7:01 am and takes black coffee. I put in a lunch order at 11:25 am unless Ms. Danvers messages me saying she’ll bring lunch for her. She likes the schedule color-coded and favors lab time on Tuesdays and Fridays. Never schedule a meeting with Morgan Edge, Maxwell Lord, or any other known sexist men before noon or after 4. As for Ms. Arias, she arrives, on average, at 8:22 am and takes her coffee with two yellow sugar packets and three milks. She likes to order her own food so unless instructed otherwise, don’t place an order for her. She likes to have her day walked through to her while she reads through emails and usually leaves early on Thursdays to be with her daughter. She likes to have phone calls at least 15 minutes apart to go over notes and prepare,” Eve recited. Lena blinked in surprise and Sam started to laugh. “That’s all I have memorized for now, but I can remember the rest!” she rushed.

“No, it’s not that,” Sam tried in between laughs. “It’s just, damn! Jess really went overboard!”

“That she did,” Lena agreed. Despite her reservations about Eve, she couldn’t deny the fact that the woman would be a suitable replacement. “You’re hired.” She pressed another button and Jess walked in right away, almost as if she were waiting by the door.

Sam walked over and side hugged her. “It’s scary how much information you’ve collected on us, Jessy. Did you give her a whole handbook or something?”

“Or something,” Jess mumbled. She was obviously embarrassed.

“Thank you for your dedication, Jess. A happy CEO is a happy company, right? Anyway, Ms. Teschmacher is hired. Please proceed with the process.”

“Right away, Ms. Luthor.”

“Thank you so much, Ms. Luthor. I’ll see you both Monday morning.” They both walked out of the room and Lena stood up, pacing the room. Sam watched in confusion.

“Hope, I need you to check whether Curt Connors was a professor at Yale during the time Ms. Teschmacher was there.”

“It checks out, Boss.” It had to be a coincidence, right? Just a coincidence. Like being bit by a spider was a coincidence. Right?

Sam placed a hand on her shoulder and the Spider jumped onto the ceiling in shock. Sam’s concern grew. “Is everything okay, Lena? She passed my vibe check and I know no one can replace Jess, but she seems like a good choice.”

Lena landed on the couch and counted to ten. “Yeah, she’s almost perfect. I still have a packed day ahead of me, we’ll talk more tonight, okay?”

“Okay. I know you said you’re cooking tonight, but do you want us to bring anything?”

“Some drinks. Make sure you get something for Ruby and Kara,” she added before the woman went back to her office. Sam gave her a thumbs up and went back to work. “Lock any and all information we have on Connors. I want you to continue searching for him. In fact, I want you to double the security to L-Corp’s firewalls and triple mine. Monitor all the information Ms. Teschmacher looks up when she’s on our servers and alert me if there are any red flags.”

“Will do, Boss.” The lights dimmed and flickered for a second. “Aren’t you being a little paranoid?” Hope sounded a little unsure. It was unlike her AI to question her motives. She knew Hope worried about her.

“I probably am,” she admitted. “But, I would rather be paranoid and be right to worry than to be ignorant and have something happen.” She sat at her desk and pondered what to make for dinner. “Should I make lasagna or ribs? Or soup?”

“Seeing as Maggie is a vegetarian and we will have a large group over tonight, I recommend lasagna with both vegan and meat options. A salad should suffice as a side dish and breadsticks for your girlfriend.” Lena smiled brightly at that. Hope called Kara her girlfriend. God, she was hopeless.

The businesswoman grabbed her notes for the upcoming meeting and started to read over them. “Sounds like a great idea, Hope,” she praised. “Can you check the fridge to see what’s missing. Once I’m getting ready to leave, place the order so they arrive around the same time as I do.”

“Of course, Boss.” So Hope could call Kara her girlfriend but couldn’t call her anything other than Boss? She rolled her eyes but had to admit that it was kind of endearing at this point.

Lena’s ears perked up at someone approaching the door and recognized the heartbeat as Kara’s. She opened the door before her girlfriend could even knock.

“Hey, darling. You’re early.”

Kara leaned down to peck her lips. “I know. I wanted to see if you needed any help. Plus, if I stayed at home and waited, I would probably go on patrol and be late.”

Lena smiled and closed the door. “Do you even know how to cook?” She headed back into the kitchen where she was laying out all the ingredients. It was almost 5:30 and everyone was going to be here around 7.

“Alex says I’m not allowed to cook anymore. You burn the kitchen down four times and it’s a crime,” she exasperated. Lena laughed when she realized her girlfriend wasn’t kidding.

“Were you too impatient and tried to use your heat vision?”

Kara crossed her arms and pouted. “I don’t understand why it takes so long!”

“My poor little alien.” Lena walked over to the pouting Kryptonian and kissed her lips. “You can help me as long as you don’t use your heat vision, okay? And while the food cooks, we can eat pizza. I’m only going to order three boxes so we still have our appetite for dinner.”

“Okay!” Kara really was like a puppy sometimes. “You’re the best, did you know that?” She hugged Lena tightly and grinned. “Okay boss, tell me what to do.”

Between the two of them, it only took half an hour to get the lasagnas made and put in the oven. Once it was in, the pizza was already on the way and Lena decided to hold off on the salad for now.

They sat at the kitchen table with the boxes splayed all over the table and chatted aimlessly about work and their friends. Maggie and Alex were trying to decide on a date for their wedding and Jess asked Pam from HR out. Ruby was going to have tryouts for club soccer on Sunday and Sam was thinking of potentially investing in stocks. Lena had bought a fair share of Taco Bell stocks since one night, when she was intoxicated, she purchased a bunch. They promised to send her a pr box every month so that was something.

“Hey, Lena?” She turned her head to see Kara fiddling with her glasses. “I know we have been dating for like, a week, but the pride parade is next month and I was wondering if you wanted to go? Like, with me? Us, as a couple. We can go as our alter egos if that’s okay? If not, it’s totally cool. I went last year with Maggie and Alex and it was the coolest thing I’ve been to. And I’ve been to 12 different planets,” she rambled. Lena fondly smiled at her and put a hand over hers.

“I would love to go, love. I’ll even get a pride flag and everything,” she promised. Lena had never attended a pride parade before and she would gladly go with Kara for her first one.

“Yes! It’s going to be so much fun! There are so many colors and everyone is so happy! I’m excited!” she gushed. The oven timer went off and Kara sped off to take the lasagnas out and put the breadsticks in.

Glancing at the time, she decided to go ahead and make the salad now. She was humming along to a song and Kara joined in. Soon, they were both dancing around the kitchen island. Lena felt so light at that moment. So happy. She forgot about Connors and Lex and Fisk. It was just her and Kara, no one else. It was almost scary how Kara could make her forget about her problems.

When the song ended, the couple looked at each other as if they were each other’s world. Lena wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck and kissed her with such passion that the alien felt like she was flying. The vigilante wasn’t ready to say the words out loud, but Kara knew. She knew that her girlfriend loved her even if she hadn’t said so out loud.

There was a knock at the door and Lena went to open it.

“Hey, Auntie!” Ruby hugged the woman and offered her a six-pack of SunnyD. “Mom said I could pick out what I wanted to drink and that I had to share with Kara. Hope your girlfriend doesn’t mind.”

“She doesn’t mind. This is actually one of my favorite drinks because of the name.” Lena made a mental note to have SunnyD in her fridge for her two favorite dorks.

“Hey, Sammy. Glad you could make it,” Lena greeted and side hugged her.

“‘Course I was going to make it! Harry Osborn is your friend from college. I wonder if your college days are as crazy as your boarding school days.” She wiggled her eyebrows playfully. “I brought the good stuff. The cashier looked at all this liquor then at Ruby with her SunnyD and I felt her judging stare while I paid. It’s hard being a single mother,” she jested.

“We will not be talking about that while there is a child present,” the raven-haired woman scolded her friend. “And with Ruby as your child, I don’t blame you,” she teased the pre-teen.

“Bruh. I am a delight to have around and you know it,” Ruby replied. The adults laughed and the homeowner started getting the table ready.

“Does Ruby know about…” Kara tapped her glasses, “you know?”

Sam crinkled her eyes and tried to suppress her smile. “No.”

Before Kara could say anything, someone knocked on the door again. “You should get rid of the lead in the house. I can’t hear anything outside of the house and it’s weird,” she said as she opened the door. Maggie and Jess walked through the door.

“Can you give me a ride home, Sam? I don’t trust Maggie on that bike.” Jess steadied herself against the kitchen wall with a hand over her stomach. Ruby offered her a juice.

The detective grinned with no remorse. “I got us here on time, didn’t I?”

“I’m so sorry for you Jess. Of course I’ll give you a ride home. God forbid I let Maggie try and kill you right after you’ve been promoted.” 

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Maggie huffed. “Alex likes my driving.”

“Maybe because she’s as much as an adrenaline junkie as you are,” Kara accused. The oven went off and she sped off to pull the garlic bread out. “Yes!” She grabbed one and stuffed it in her mouth despite the heat. Perks of being a Kryptonian.

Ruby gasped. “Can I have one too?” Maggie facepalmed, Jess laughed, Sam shook her head in disbelief, Kara had a sheepish smile, and Lena was amused.

“Darling, we just told you that she doesn’t know. Then you speed off and do that.” Seriously, how did National City not realize Kara was Supergirl? She was the worst at keeping secrets.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been smelling them cooking and it already took everything in me to not use heat vision to heat it up.”

Ruby frowned and looked confused. “What are you guys talking about? I’m right here, you know.”

“I’m Supergirl,” Kara announced as she stuffed her face with another breadstick. What was Lena going to do with her?

“I’m dead,” Ruby deadpanned. Upon noticing that everyone was serious, her eyes widened in shock. “So Lena is Spider-Woman and she’s dating you who’s Supergirl? SO COOL! Can I have your autograph! Can you take me flying! What’s it like? What-”

“Hey!” Lena walked over and snatched the bread away from her girlfriend and set it on the table. She turned on Ruby and pointed an accusatory finger at her. “You didn’t ask me for an autograph! Or to go web-swinging!”

Maggie snorted and Sam bent over, laughter wracking her body. Jess giggled and Kara snorted.

“Don’t be so shook, I’m sorry. But you know I’ve been dying to meet Supergirl for forever now! You’ve been holding out on me, Auntie! I can’t even.”

“Ruby played us. She’s been team Super this whole time,” the cop tsked.

Sam crossed her arms and looked away. “In this household, we’re team Spidey. I can’t believe you’ve done this.”

“What’s wrong with team Super?” Kara asked.

“Nothing,” Jess shrugged. “We just have to support our girl.” She looked at Ruby and stuck her tongue out. “Traitor. To think that I taught you how to make web fluid.”

“Don’t listen to them, Ruby!” Kara picked Ruby up with ease and placed her on her shoulders, her head almost hit the ceiling. “I’ll take you flying and I’ll sign anything you want me to.”

The doorbell rang and everyone tensed. There were still pizza boxes out and the table wasn’t set.

“Kara, can you please clean in here while I get the door? And no superhero talk, okay? He knows nothing.” Lena headed towards the door when her girlfriend nodded and started to put the youngest Arias down. “Harry! So glad you could make it!” She stepped outside of the door and hugged him. She could hear Kara speeding around in the kitchen.

“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I didn’t know what to bring, so I nicked this from Father’s collection,” he offered her a bottle of champagne.

“I see some things haven’t changed from college.” The rustling had stopped. “Come in, everyone is here already.”

They walked into the kitchen and the table was set. There were two trays of lasagna, a huge bowl of salad, whatever was left of the bread, and a variety of drinks.

“This is my friend from MIT, Harry Osborn. Harry, you remember Kara.” He nodded and shook her hand. “This is my CFO Samantha Arias and her daughter Ruby Arias.” They shook hands and Ruby offered him a high-five. “Jess has been my faithful assistant since Metropolis and now she’ll be working in my R&D department.”

“Impressive. Lena doesn’t just give that position to anybody, you know,” Harry commented. “Though maybe you do since you offered me a position,” he joked. 

Maggie reached over and offered her hand. “I’m Maggie Sawyer, NCPD. I actually met Lena by arresting her.”

Harry raised his eyebrows and laughed. “How am I not surprised? Are you still causing cops trouble?”

“No,” she defended herself. “Those days were over the day Felicia and I broke up.” The tips of her ears started to turn red at the thought of how many times Harry had to bail her out after they were caught.

“Sounds like there’s a story there,” Maggie goaded.

“Oh, for sure. There was this-”

“How about we eat first, yeah? Then we can whip out the embarrassing stories.” Harry seemed to get the hint and sat down at the end of the table. Lena took the seat next to her girlfriend. “The smaller one is the vegan one for Maggie. Go ahead and be impressed by my cooking,” she offered.

Thinking about it, the only people who had tasted her cooking before were Harry, Sam, Ruby, and Kara. She knew she was a good cook but was still nervous about what everyone thought.

“Damn, Luthor. This is better than I thought it would be,” Maggie complimented and the others agreed. “I would rather eat this than my pot brownies any day.” A few of the adults chuckled.

“What’s a pot brownie? Do you have any? Can I have one?” Ruby asked after she chewed what was in her mouth. Sam kicked Maggie under the table.

“For someone who’s a cop, you’re a terrible role model.”

“She should know what it is so if someone offers her one, she should know to say no!”

“Who would offer a 12-year-old a pot brownie?” Kara tilted her head in confusion.

“Maggie, probably,” Jess suggested. The table chuckled but Ruby was still pouting since her question went unanswered.

“Pot means weed, Ruby. It’s a drug. Did Sam already have the say no to drugs talk with you?” Lena looked between the two Arias women.

Ruby nodded. “Yeah. No to drugs. No to pot.”

Maggie clapped her hands. “That’s right, Ruby. If I hear a rumor that you even looked at a drug, I’m putting you in handcuffs.” Ruby looked at her mom helplessly.

“She’s right, hon. If you even think about it, Auntie Maggie will lock you up and toss the key away.”

“You’re scaring her!” Jess accused. “That is so not cash money of them, huh Ruby?” The little girl nodded hurriedly. “That’s what you get for being team Super.” Oof, that was cold Jess!

Kara’s mouth fell open. “Jess!” She hissed in a scandalous tone. To be fair, the reporter saw Jess as a dutiful assistant, she didn’t really know her savage personality. “I’ll have Supergirl save you, Ruby. Team Super all the way!” Lena rested her hand on her girlfriend’s thigh as a reminder to not say anything else.

Ruby smiled and looked at Harry who was simply following the conversation in silence. “What team are you, Harry? Team Spider or team Super?”

“As in who do I like more: Spider-Woman or Supergirl?” She nodded and he looked deep in thought. “I guess Spider-Woman. I had my fill of Super when I was in Metropolis.” Lena beamed at her girlfriend as if to say  _ ha, in your face! _ “Though, the vigilante is leagues under Supergirl. You can tell she’s new to this whole thing but she makes up for it in spirit.” The table absolutely roared at that and Lena’s face burned in embarrassment. Harry was confused at why everyone found his comment funny but laughed along regardless.

“You hear that babe? She’s leagues under Supergirl.” Kara’s face was so smug that Lena pouted.

“I bet she is under Supergirl,” Maggie teased. Kara spat out her drink and apologized to Jess who sat across from her and Lena let the forkful of lasagna fall off her fork onto the plate.

“Maggie!”

“Really? Cuz I know Lena-”

“Can we have a nice meal just once, please?” Lena begged. “Ruby is at the table for fuck’s sake!”

“Lena! We do not use that mother fucking language around children!” Maggie chimed in.

“Maggie! Don’t be a shithead. No cursing around Ruby, damnit!” Sam tried to keep a straight face.

“Piss off, Sam. Don’t be such a dick to Mags,” Jess added.

“Yeah!” Kara was obviously psyching herself up. “Can I swear?”

“Yes, Kara, I allow you to swear,” Sam prompted.

“F. Fff,” Kara tried.

“Yes, go on,” Maggie encouraged.

“I’m nervous,” Kara mumbled.

“You can do it, Kara! You’ve got this!” Jess cheered.

“I think I’m ready now.” Kara took a deep breath. “Fff. Ffu- Frick! I can’t do it, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, darling, See, Kara is a good example. She doesn’t curse and she’s still the best,” Lena praised. She leaned over and kissed her girlfriend on the lips. Maggie and Sam groaned.

“Not at the dinner table,” Maggie complained.

“You literally-” Lena stopped herself and shook her head. Why was she friends with these people again? “See what I have to deal with?” She asked Harry.

“This is way better company than Felicia and those snobs that used to follow us around.” He drank from his cup. “Though it was kind of fun watching them fumble all over themselves to try and get near us.”

For the rest of dinner, they talked with ease. It took Harry a while to get comfortable but once he did, he was a hit. Jess and Sam took a liking to him while Maggie and Ruby bantered. Lena took in the environment and reviled in the fact that she had friends. People who liked her for her (for better or for worse).

They were in the living room watching a nonsense show when Maggie’s phone rang. She took it and returned with a grave expression, asking the super couple if they could talk outside.

“A shipment was stolen from the DEO. It was only one crate but Alex was doing some digging and it turns out that every other month a shipment has been stolen from a different DEO countrywide. How no one noticed, I don’t know,” Maggie informed.

“Okay. We’ll be dealing with someone who has alien weaponry, no big deal. We’ve faced worse,” Kara said.

The detective shook her head. “If they’ve been stealing a shipment once a month for a year, we have no idea what kind of technology they have. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have something that could render you immobile,” she pointed to Kara. “Alex and Winn are already working on trying to track whoever did this down. They shouldn’t have gotten too far from the city.”

“Shouldn’t we be out there then? Looking for whoever did this?” Lena wasn’t even halfway finished with Kara’s new suit and if they happened to have Kryptonite… “I can go, just say it was a work emergency or something.”

“No. I’m just informing you guys. If either of you go out there and look for them, they’ll know we’re onto them. We’ve got to get all the information first and then attack on this one. No going in headfirst.”

Kara looked like she was about to refuse so Lena stepped in. “She’s right, darling. Hope, monitor the progress the DEO is making on this and find out as much as you can about the potential weapons the enemy has. We’ve got to be ready for anything.”

The cop blinked owlishly at the vigilante. “You hacked the DEO?” Kara turned to her with surprise in her face.

“Oh, please. After our last conversation, I decided to keep an eye on them. For being a covert agency, it was surprisingly easy to hack. Only took a couple of hours. My L-Corp servers have more protection than that.”

“Winn is the one who created the firewalls. Winn,” Kara emphasized.

“He’s got to step up his hacking game. Felicity and I play hacking games with each other. She’s a force to be reckoned with, I still haven’t managed to beat the latest puzzle she sent me,” Lena sighed. That woman was way better at hacking than Lena was. It was inspiring and also a bit frightening.

“You just casually play hacking games with someone who’s on a whole ass different Earth?” Maggie asked incredulously. “I can’t believe you found a way to text someone from another dimension and act like it’s not a big deal.” She looked at Kara. “Your girlfriend is nuts.”

The alien wrapped a protective arm around her girlfriend. “She’s going to save this planet single-handedly. Dare you to call her nuts then. Anyway, I won’t go looking for these thieves but if they show up, I’m going to stop them,” Kara declared.

“We’ll talk about this later with Alex. We’ve been out here too long, come on.” Maggie headed back towards the party and the couple followed. 

“Hey Harry, just out of curiosity, what kind of security does your father have for the gala tomorrow?” Lena casually sat down on the couch next to him.

He scrunched his eyebrows and pursed his lips while thinking. “I think it’s just his private detail that he has.”

“Why not ask the NCPD for security?”

“Father would rather his own people guard him than cops. Why?” Lena and Maggie exchanged looks.

“The wealthiest people in National City are going to be in the same building, it’s just a precaution. My own gala has been interrupted by thugs before so I like to have my events with both my own security and the NCPD,” Lena stated. She hesitated before adding, “I can ask Spider-Woman to be there. She’ll stay in the shadows and no one will even know she’s there unless there’s trouble.”

“You have a good point. If you can reach her, I know I’ll be safer knowing she’ll be watching over the whole thing.” He leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “Since Sam is your CFO, she’ll be there, right? She seems like a formidable person.”

Lena rolled her eyes and responded in a whisper of her own. “She is. If you are thinking of engaging, you should know I will happily kick your ass if you hurt her.”

“That I believe,” he chuckled. Sam had been talking about how her sex life was nonexistent so if she and Harry hit it off, then so be it. Lena wasn’t going to interfere.

They called it a night around 10 since Ruby was starting to get sleepy. Everybody said their goodbyes and, true to her word, Jess left with Sam so she didn’t have to undergo the torture of Maggie’s driving.

“So you know how you’ve gotten me to watch about half the Disney movies at this point?” Lena started. Kara nodded from the kitchen where she was using her speed to clean up. “I was thinking of showing you something I like.”

“Yes! I want to watch something you like!”

“I know you hate opera but love musicals, so I was thinking we could watch Phantom of the Opera. Lex showed it to me when I was younger and I find the narrative intriguing. It is a bit dark, though.”

“Can we cuddle and finish the food?”

“Of course,” Lena smiled. “Now, come here. I need my Kryptonian baby to keep me warm.” She opened her arms and Kara jumped into them. Lena staggered backward a bit from the force but happily tightened her hold on her girlfriend. She looked up and the blonde met her halfway for a kiss.

“Put the movie in and I’ll reheat the food,” Kara murmured as she dismounted. When Lena grabbed her arm, she amended, “in the microwave. No heat vision in the house, I know, I know.”

Five minutes later, they were entangled in the sheets eating lasagna (Lena the leftover vegan one because Kara refused to eat healthily) and watched the tale unfold on the tv.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a dope picture of LA, huh? I took it while we were stuck in traffic lmao. Anyways. Like I said, I'm hoping to have the second half of the chapter up tomorrow - the gala, the meeting with the captain and mayor, who the baddie is. Can you guess who the villain next chapter is going to be? Hint: It's not Cadmus.
> 
> Do you guys read on your phone or on a laptop? Just curious lol.
> 
> [Spider-Lena's Spotify Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3u4wox2zAJV1uhqZ5TaQ3q) and [my tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked)


	13. The DEO Sucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gala and the mysterious villain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao y'all caught me slipping. I fell asleep last night and then I had writer's block. Wrote this chapter maybe 3 different times but it's finally here. It's a bit more on the serious side so no social media or text posts this chapter. F.

Lena had walked about five feet when she heard, “Lena! It’s so good to see you!”

“Norman! Thank you for inviting me,” she replied to the man. He walked over and shook her hand.

“It was my pleasure. I am very excited about the new direction Oscorp is heading towards. Hopefully when you hear my speech you’ll decide that it is something Luthor-” he cleared his throat- “L-Corp would be interested in pursuing.”

She put on her fake smile. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, don’t we?” For whatever reason, he found that funny. After he finished laughing, he seemed to notice Kara who was on Lena’s arm.

“I don’t believe we’ve met before. I’m obviously Norman Osborn. And you are?” He looked her up and down with curiosity.

“This is my girlfriend, Kara Danvers. She’s a reporter with CatCo Worldwide Media,” Lena introduced. The two shook hands but she noticed Norman’s expression falter.

“I always preferred the Daily Planet myself, but all to their own I suppose. Oh look it’s Morgan Edge, I should really go introduce myself. Have a nice night ladies,” the older man rushed out and walked away.

“He is nothing like Harry,” Kara observed.

“Don’t I know it,” the CEO mumbled. “He’s a homophobic, sexist bigot. For Harry’s sake, I play nice with his father. Despite their relationship, Norman means a lot to Harry and I respect it. However, if Norman crosses me in any way, not even Harry would be able to stop me.”

Kara laughed lightly. “That I believe. Oh! Look at those mini sandwiches!” She started to drag Lena towards the table.

“Kara, darling,” she chided. “I have to make my rounds and greet everybody. It may not be my gala, but some of my investors are here and I have to at least make some small talk. Don’t eat too much too fast, okay?”

“Okay. While I’m eating not too much not too fast, I’ll keep an ear out for anything suspicious. Have fun schmoozing the people.” They shared a chaste kiss before splitting up.

Lena had hoped that Kara would eventually join her but she was talking to Sam and Harry. Traitor. She finished up her conversation and started to head towards them until her spider-sense perked up. If it wasn’t for the little hairs that covered her body, she wouldn’t have noticed the featherlight fingers closing around her wrist where her watch sat. Lena put a hand on the one trying to steal her watch and looked up to smile sweetly at the thief. When she saw who it was, her fake smile dropped.

“Felicia?” Lena gasped. The woman went stock still and slowly looked up to meet dark, green eyes that were oh so familiar.

“Lena?” The two stared at each other in disbelief. Of all the places for them to meet, Felicia trying to steal goods off of rich people at a gala made sense. “Just this Black Cat’s bad luck, eh? I was hoping I wouldn’t run into you. Didn’t even recognize ya.”

“Wh-what are you doing here?” Lena’s brain was going millions of miles per hour. The last time she saw her ex was that last night. Felicia declared that she was going to live a life of crime and Lena was either going to be in or out. She obviously refused. They had one last night together and when Lena woke up, naked and marked up, everything that belonged to the woman was long gone. Not even a stray hair was left, just the lingering smell of last night’s activities and lavender perfume.

“What does it look like I’m doing, babe?” Felicia smirked. The hand that was on the watch slowly trailed up Lena’s arm and left goosebumps in its wake. “Once I was bored with Metropolis, I tried Gotham. They have their own cat burglar to deal with, though, so I’ve been hitting different cities, getting filthy rich. I heard there was a new metahuman here though. Wanted to give her a spin, if you know what I mean.” The last sentence was whispered in the CEO’s ear seductively. A shiver ran through her body.

“If you try anything, she and her girlfriend, Supergirl, will catch you.” She meant to have said it with some bravado, but her voice was shaky.

“Don’t you remember, baby pop? The more the merrier.” Felicia licked her lips and winked. The hand that rested on Lena’s shoulder cupped her cheek. “If I’ve heard correctly though, you already know that.” Against her will, the business woman's face flushed a light shade of red.

“Babe, there you are!” Kara walked over and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend possessively. Felicia dropped her hand and Kara pulled Lena closer to her body. “Hi, I’m Kara, Lena’s girlfriend. And you are?” The alien asked in a surprisingly chipper voice.

“Lena’s girlfriend, huh?” The cat’s smirk widened as she took in the couple. “Still into tall blondes, eh?” She stood two inches taller than Kara, four over Lena. “I’m Felicia, Lena’s first girlfriend,” she proudly introduced. The arm around the vigilante tightened.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you, but we’re actually being called over. Come on, honey.” Kara guided her girlfriend towards their friends. “You didn’t mention her ex was going to be here,” she accused Harry.

The man scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “Pardon?”

“Our favorite thief is here,” the vigilante explained. “Which completely threw me off.”

“Obviously,” the alien scoffed. Her arm was still wrapped around her partner.

“Someone’s jealous!” Harry poked fun of Kara. “I don’t know how she got in. She’s probably left already now that she’s been caught. I apologize for that.”

“Better have,” Kara mumbled.

“Can I speak to Lena real quick, Kara?” Sam asked.

The alien narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know. You and Lena have a history too.”

“Don’t be daft.” Lena backhanded Kara’s chest. “You know my heart belongs to you, darling. I’ll only be a minute.” After pressing a kiss to her cheek, she added, “and you better not listen!”

Just to be sure the Kryptonian wouldn’t eavesdrop, the two L-Corp employees walked out into the cold air.

“So I know you and Harry are friends, but that was it, right? Nothing else?” 

“Yeah?”

“Would it be weird if I made a move on him? He’s the son of a potential business partner, I wouldn’t want to risk anything. I guess I’m asking both as your CFO and as your friend if it would be okay if something were to happen between me and Harry? He’s sweet, compassionate, cares about the environment, knows how to cook, and his smile, Lena! He has the brightest smile and he’s such a gentleman. But you probably already knew that, right?” Sam gushed.

“Is this what I sounded like when I would talk about Kara?” Most likely.

Sam rolled her eyes. “He knows about Ruby and that didn’t seem to turn him off. I think he’s been flirting with me, but it’s hard to say ‘cause your girlfriend keeps cockblocking!”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem for the rest of the night,” she assured. “I say go for it, Sammy. You’re right, Harry is a great guy. And he knows that if he hurts you, I will reign down on him.”

The CFO grinned. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on any dates. I should delete my Tinder profile! Wait, if he does ask me on a date, what do I do? What if it’s not serious? What about Ruby? What if she doesn’t like him? Wh-”

“Sam,” Lena cut her off. “Take it one step at a time. By the end of tonight, you’ll probably already have his number and a date planned. If that goes well, then he’ll ask you on another one. That’s how you know it’s going to be serious. We’ll have more squad hangouts so Ruby and the others can get to know him, but I’m telling you, Harry is charming. Even Mother approved of our friendship.”

“That’s like, a major compliment. You’re right, though. One step at a time,” she conceded. “We should probably get back, though. I can feel Kara looking at us even though we can’t see her.” They both laughed and headed inside.

The whole thing was a blur with nothing of importance happening. Norman gave his speech about how his work in cross genetic mutation could potentially benefit human lives. It was an impressive speech for sure and many people were intrigued and ready to invest. Except for Lena. Changing DNA the way Norman was going to use it was like playing God and it reminded her too much of Lex. She was going to stay far away from this project if she could help it.

The event was already coming to end when there was a faint sound of a bird calling into the night followed by the sound of wings flapping. Metallic wings. 

“Do you hear that?” Kara asked Lena. The vigilante nodded and looked for Hope. She had been perched in the shadows the whole night but now she was nowhere to be seen.

The Spider reached for her earpiece unsuspectedly and clicked it so she could speak. “Hope, what is that noise?” It sounded like it was getting closer. 

“It appears to be a man flying with man-made wings, Boss. I’m assuming his target is your location.” Just as she had finished saying that, the bird sound went off again, shattering the glass and windows. People covered their ears. Kara’s ears were ringing with the loud sound and Hope was doing her best to filter the sound out for her creator. When the noise stopped, the man with the wings crashed through the doors. In his hand was a giant gun that glowed pink.

“National City’s richest people are gathered here tonight-” before he could even begin to monologue, Hope launched a web grenade and webbed him some more so he was in a tight cocoon.

“They always look so cozy wrapped up like that,” her AI commented. A few people clapped and others sighed in relief. Until Birdman ripped the webbing like it was made of paper and shot his weapon at the spider suit.

“I was going to be nice about it, but no! I changed my mind! H-” He was once again interrupted by Hope. They engaged in battle and the people started to run around in a panic. He let out that sonic scream again causing people to falter. Men dressed in all black came storming through the door with alien weapons of their own.

“Here, your ears are more sensitive than mine. It won’t stop the damage, but it’ll at least help.” Lena took off her earpiece and handed it to Kara. “Once I’m inside the suit, I’ll be protected. I just need a distraction.”

“That I can do. I’ll get Sam and Harry out the door first so you have time to go hide somewhere.” They shared a kiss before Kara ran (at a human speed) outside.

The battle was still raging. The men were robbing people of their jewelry and fighting anyone who tried to stand up to them. The vigilante fled outside and waited in an alley a block away from Oscorp. 5 minutes later, the suit shot towards her and landed on the floor. As Lena reached down to help Hope up, the suit started to meld onto her body. Nanotechnology was the coolest.

Spider-Woman jumped into the fray. She disarmed the men and webbed them to the ground as fast as she could so she could face Birdman. He and Supergirl were engaged in battle and as she got closer, she got a good luck at the wings.

“Are those wings carbon fiber?” Spidey exclaimed. “That would explain the rigidity flexibility ratio, I’m impressed!” She dodged a ray that was shot in her direction. “How did you make those?”

“Can you geek out when he’s not trying to kill us?” Supergirl exasperated. She got hit by a green ray and fell to the floor. He then dropped down to her and injected her with something.

“Supergirl, what’s wrong? What’s he doing to you?” Panic surged through Lena’s body and she rushed to her girlfriend. When Birdman saw her approaching, he threw the Super off to the side as if she were a ragdoll.

“Kryptonite sure is hard to come by. Though, I think it was worth the hassle,” Birdman cackled.

Spider-Woman jumped onto a wing and clung onto it while he tried to shake her off. “Get Agent Danvers here for Supergirl and activate the taser webs.” The webbing that was around his body went live and he shook before collapsing on the ground.

“Agent Danvers estimated time of arrival is 13 minutes,” Hope informed. That wouldn’t be enough time. Oscorp was empty and only the bad guys remained - they were webbed to the floor and Bird Brain was unconscious for now. She had to get Kara out of here.

Spider-Woman scooped Supergirl up and had her in a fireman’s carry. She may be slower than her girlfriend, but Lena could still outrun a car. Kara was mostly out of it so the Spider gripped the alien tightly as she ran outside. There were reporters and people filming so she ran a couple of blocks before scaling a building and leaping rooftop to rooftop on her way to the DEO. She may hate that place with all of her being, but they had the equipment to heal Supergirl from Kryptonite’s effects, Lena didn’t. Yet.

It took 8 minutes to get there. Winn was staring at a monitor anxiously and when he saw the couple, he led Spider-Woman to the med bay. She unceremoniously dumped her girlfriend on the bed.

“Alex turned back once she got the message you were headed here. She’ll be here any minute to fix her up,” Winn tried to tell Lena. The vigilante nodded and sat down on a chair. That was such a workout, she knew she was going to be sore tomorrow.

Alex came barging through the door and went straight to work with Kara. “How about you show our spider friend where we keep the food? Bet she’s hungry. I can’t believe you ran all the way over here with her. I’m impressed,” she admitted.

“I didn’t want to risk another minute. And food sounds good. Lead the way my good sir,” Spidey told the nerd. He nodded eagerly and headed out of the room.

“I’ll take care of her, I promise. After you get a bite to eat, head home and get some rest. Maggie will interrogate everyone you left behind and hopefully, we’ll be able to find out whether or not they are the ones who have been stealing from us.” Lena nodded and headed out of the room to follow Winn.

-

“Hello, Captain. It’s a pleasure seeing you again,” Lena said as the man walked into the conference room.

“I don’t believe we’ve actually met before, Ms. Luthor.” They shook hands and she hoped he didn’t notice the brief panic that flashed through her face.

“My apologies. Spider-Woman and Maggie talk about you so much, it seems as if I already know you,” she lied. She has spent so much time at the precinct as her alter ego, she forgot that they have never spoken to Lena Luthor before.

“Ms. Luthor, Captain,” the mayor spoke as he walked in. The CEO was grateful for the distraction, lest she embarrassed herself more in front of the officer. “Your assistant informed me that you wanted to speak to us both about expanding the NCPD? This request has piqued my interest.”

The woman stood up from her seat and pulled her business persona forward. “That is correct. The world is changing and we need to change with it. When people rob a bank, it is easy to drop them off at the police because they’re human and we have laws to follow. When an alien causes trouble, Supergirl takes them to the DEO since they deal with the extra-normal. What about metahumans?” She walked over to her laptop and played the slide show. “I believe that metahumans should not be under the DEO jurisdiction and instead fall under the NCPD.”

The first slide had the record of the first metahuman that National City had: Livewire.

“National City was not ready for this type of attack. It even took Supergirl a couple of days to capture her. Once she was captured, she was taken to the DEO where she most likely sat in a cell without a hearing. I have my issues with them as it is and how they treat aliens, but that battle is already being fought. But as I was saying, if she were taken to the NCPD as if she were any other human, she would have a hearing with a judge. Perhaps even get parole. Anything would be better than being locked in an underground facility where no one would know where to find her.”

She clicked onto the next slide. Flint Marko’s mugshot appeared with his criminal record and then a picture of Sandman.

“Flint Marko already had a criminal record before turning into a metahuman. It may be seen as fair that he carries out his sentence in the basement of the DEO, but I find it inhumane and morally wrong. So far, we haven’t had many metahumans to cause alarm, but it’s only time. I suggest we prepare for it by opening another wing to the prison solely for these types of people. I can make metahuman dampeners and special cells so that their powers will be rendered useless.” She actually got the idea from Barry. He had told her about the cells in STAR Labs and how the prison has some as well.

“I see your point, but are you sure you can design such a thing?” Mayor Morrison asked. “Marko literally turns into a sand beast that can go through cracks. Can you be sure you can build something that can stop that?”

“Yes.” Since STAR Labs already has anti-metahuman devices, it wouldn’t be difficult to build her own. She would just need to ask Cisco for the designs and his input on how to alter it if need be.

“What about your partner, Spider-Woman?” The officer asked.

Lena closed the laptop and sat back down across from the men. “She agrees with my idea, but if this does go through, she has some requests. One, the only people who know about this for right now are the two of you and the select few she’s willing to work with. Two, those select few will be Detective Sawyer, Officer Jackson, Officer Chase, Officer Gonzalez, and yourself, Captain. Three, she has the right to modify the dampeners so it won’t affect her in case they end up in the wrong hands. She will, however, allow both of you a set of dampeners that will work on her.”

The mayor nodded. “Those seem like reasonable requests. I’ll allow for this and I’ll fund the research. What about you, Captain?”

“Sounds like a swell idea. I’ll speak to my team about it once I get back.”

They stayed for another twenty minutes, hashing out all the details and talking numbers. Thankfully, Lena had outlines for everything printed out and she showed them the design for a prototype. The mayor left in a hurry for another meeting and the remaining two exchanged numbers (she was grateful Hope deleted the contact when she handed him her phone).

“I’ve got to get going back to my boys. The interrogations are going slow and no one wants to rat out their boss. All we got out of them is that his name is the Vulture. Too bad he got away last night.” The cop swept imaginary dust off of his cover before putting it on.

Lena walked over to open the door but then paused. “Birdman escaped?” She knew she should’ve used a higher voltage on him. Maybe web him more. Broken a wing. But Kara was in danger, she was still at the DEO recovering. Saenz looked at her with an unreadable expression. “Birdman is what Spidey called him. She told me she had knocked him unconscious. She would have stayed, but there was an emergency,” she felt like explaining.

“Right. With his men still here, there is a chance he’ll try and come back for them. Or not. Hope Spidey’s already out there looking for him.” He tipped his hat. “Nice meeting you, Ms. Luthor. I’ll be looking forward to working with you.” Once the elevator doors shut, Lena practically sprinted up the stairs into her office.

“Hope, have you found a connection between the men and the missing shipments?”

“The Vulture, aka Adrian Toomes, was working for Metropolis’s Damage Control unit since 2009. However, the DEO took over in 2015, firing the employees and putting their own people in since more and more alien activity was rising. Since then, he has been on the move under the radar. It appears he has even worked with Lillian Luthor and Cadmus in the past.” Hope displayed images on the blank wall as she spoke.

“What’s his goal? Why is he doing this?” Lena started to pace.

“It seems as if he has been growing his collection of alien weaponry so he can attack the DEO itself. His main target is the one in National City but he needed to test his new weapons on Supergirl. With her immobile, he can take over the organization,” Hope theorized. “It is unclear whether or not he is anti or pro-alien.”

That seemed to make sense. Though, there was only one way to know for sure what his goals were. “You have a name and a face. Scan the city until you find him and find any and all information you have on him. This ends tonight.”

-

Spider-Woman climbed onto the roof of the warehouse. It used to be one owned by Lillian and it wasn’t on the record anywhere, so this confirmed that he had some ties with Cadmus. Hope ran a quick scan and found that Adrian was the only person here. It was nearing midnight and she had worn her newest suit, the red, white and blue a stark contrast to the greys and greens in the building.

She crawled on the ceiling and stayed above him. He was standing over a desk looking at the blueprints of the DEO. There was a variety of alien weaponry around him but what had caught her eye was the framed photograph. Adrian had his arm slung over a young woman’s shoulder and they were both mid-laugh. The frame read: First Date.

“Are you going to stay there all night or are you going to come down?” The man’s voice startled her out of her thoughts. She dropped down from the ceiling and approached him.  
“Give it up, Toomes. Your men have been captured, I found your base, and I know what your plans are. If you come quietly, maybe I can help cut you a deal,” Spider-Woman proposed.

“You’re clever, I’ll give you that. No one has been able to find me and I’ve been doing this for years.” He was leaning against the table, arms crossed as if this were a casual conversation. 

“What exactly is this?” Lena gestured around the room. There were parts of broken spaceships and other alien artifacts around the room.

He gazed at her thoughtfully as if wondering if she was worth his time. “I wanna know how much you know about me. Or how much you think you know.”

Fine, she’ll talk. Only to see if he’ll confess to what he’s doing. “You used to work for Damage Control until the DEO fired everybody there. After that, you dropped off the face of the earth. I know you’ve worked with Cadmus in the past. You have some sort of grudge against the DEO and I feel like it’s more than they cost you your job. Maybe you hate aliens and want them killed too?”

The Vulture barked a laugh at that and his smile was cold. “Hate aliens? No. The ones who hate aliens is that stupid organization!” He screamed. “They treat them no worse than what Cadmus does. Sometimes they experiment on them. Sometimes they kill them. And your girlfriend, an alien herself, works with those monsters! They tear families apart! They took Doris while we were out camping because she was using her powers. All she did was light the campfire for us! Since then, I’ve been scheming. Taking their gear to use against them one day. I tracked Doris’s last location here and I’m going to free her. Then, she’ll burn the whole place down to the ground!” He finished. His chest was rising and falling rapidly, anger evident in his face. His eyes were like an inferno.

“Then why work with Cadmus? Why make weapons that can hurt aliens?”

“Lillian Luthor is a smart woman with many resources. If I make a few weapons for her, she’ll give me information and anything I ask for. The past four years I’ve been forced into the shadows and helping that wretched woman. It was all worth it, though. I gave enough Kryptonite to Supergirl to keep her under while I storm the place. Doesn’t matter if I don’t have my men no more. I’ve been working towards this goal for years, nothing will stop me now,” Adrian declared.

Lena was at a crossroads. He was right, of course. She agreed with everything he said and his partner shouldn’t have been taken. Yet, he had been working with her mother for years now and it wasn’t necessarily forced. Plus, Kara, Alex, Winn, and even Pam were at the DEO. She couldn’t risk them being in danger.

“I understand, Adrian. I do. I’m trying to work on changing the DEO. Supergirl quit until they’ve changed. The director is trying to talk to the President about changing the system and setting some aliens free. I will do whatever I can to help Doris out. But, you still have to answer to all the bad things you’ve done.”

The man scoffed and pressed a button on his remote. “It doesn’t matter if the aliens are released. Do you think they won’t be bitter about how they were treated? About how it took so long to be freed? They might fight back and I will gladly join them.”

Before she could say anything, she heard the soft mechanical hum of his wings. She jumped up, just barely dodging the razor-sharp edges that were coming for her. She was so focused on getting in the air, she didn’t think about the man. He shot the weapon at her and she felt like she was being electrocuted.

“Took some pointers from those taser webs you shot me with. It was a smart idea. Hope you don’t mind that I upped the dosage.” Adrian started to attach the wings to himself while Lena twitched on the floor. She shakily got to her feet.

“I gave you a chance, Toomes. I will take you down now,” she threatened. He seemed unperturbed by this and flexed his shoulders back, the wings mimicking his movements. As he was squatting to lift off, Lena shot a web towards him and it caught on the wing. Soon, she was in the air with him.

“Get off, you stupid spider!” The Vulture growled. Lena stayed on the wing and Hope was scanning for the main controls to disarm it. He was shaking his wings and flying higher into the air, but the vigilante stuck on. He was trying to reach behind him but to no avail.

She was able to disable one wing but forgot one important fact: they were a couple of hundred feet in the air. She stuck tight while he desperately flapped one wing. They crash-landed into a building and Lena being the self-sacrificing hero that she is, took the brunt of the impact. She couldn’t see straight but she saw the Vulture sprawled out on the ground covered in debris. She stumbled over to him and vaguely noticed the smell of fire. She reached down to check his heartbeat but was stunned by the feeling of something going through her.

Spider-Woman looked down and saw the tips of the wings coming out of her stomach, above her belly button. Weird. How did that happen? The Vulture stood up, retracted his wing, and forced the Spider against the wall. Her head was lolling to the side and the smell of fire seemed to be getting stronger.

“You.” Punch to the face. “Should.” Broken nose. “Have.” Kick to the shin. “Stayed.” The wing pierced her left shoulder to keep her up. Her body buckled. “Out.” She noticed a trail of gasoline heading towards them. “Of.” Another hit. “My.” The fire was so close, she could feel the flames. “Way!” He went to throw another punch at her, but she managed to dodge. His fist hit the brick wall and he stumbled back in pain, grasping his hand. The wing was removed as well and the building was getting hotter.

Using all the adrenaline she had in her body, Lena grabbed the Vulture by his harness and started to drag him outside. Just as she had gotten through the exit, an explosion happened. The force of it pushed her forward but left Adrian underneath the debris. Her left arm stung and she couldn’t really tell which way was up or which way was down, but she knew she had to save him. He didn’t deserve to die.

Limping, she went over and pushed shoved her hands on the piece of the wall that fell on him. Using all her might, she pushed it off. She heard sirens in the distance. Once the heavy stuff was off of his body, she dragged him a safe distance away.

“Should’ve let me die,” he coughed.

“I will get Doris to you. Stay alive.” She felt like throwing up now. Those siren sounds were so loud. Did they have to be loud? She lifted a hand to wipe some blood from her mouth and noticed her mask was partially ripped. And so was the rest of the suit. Great, she had to practically make this one from scratch all over again.

“Spidey!” Maggie rushed over and took in the ripped costume. “You’re bleeding! Shit!” She pulled out her phone and started to type away at it.

“D'yanno why I put blue in my costume?” She didn’t wait for a response before continuing. “It’s so the bad guys don’t see me bleed.” She looked down and saw her blue blood staining the red and white. “‘M like a flag!” Then she passed out.

“Fuck!” Maggie looked over her shoulder and motioned for her partner. “He needs medical help, but he is getting arrested, so don’t let him out of your sight. I’m going to take the car and get Spider-Woman some help.” Officer Chase nodded. As carefully as she could, Maggie took Lena in a bridal carry and set her in the back of the cruiser. It was going to be an uncomfortable ride but so be it. She turned on the sirens and headed to the DEO so Alex could have a look at her.

-

“Please tell me I’ve only been out for a couple of hours,” Lena begged when she found consciousness. She opened her eyes and expected to see the blaring white ceiling of her basement, not a black one. Panic started to surge through her. “Where am I?” She sat up and instantly regretted it. She turned to the side to throw up and was surprised to find a trash can there to catch her vomit.

“You have a tendency to throw up after you wake up, so I had the bright idea to put trash cans around your bed. Alex thought it was dumb, but I knew it would come in handy,” Maggie gloated. Lena fell back into bed. “To answer your question though, it’s been about 24 hours. It’s currently 1:03 am on Monday.”

The Luthor sighed in relief. “I really cannot afford to miss any more work. If I keep disappearing every time Spider-Woman gets seriously injured, people are going to start speculating. Not even us being seen at the same time will help.” She really had to go into work that day. Even if she just stayed in her office all day.

“I don’t think Alex is going to let you go. You took a brutal beating, Luthor. She was able to stitch you up no problem, but it was pretty deep. You have a fine collection of scars started.” Great. Now Lena had to be careful about what she wore so no one could see the damages done to her.

“Lena!” Kara ran into the room and looked her girlfriend up and down. Deciding that she seemed okay, the alien kissed her softly then backed away with a scolding look on her face. “That was so reckless and stupid of you! You would think after what happened with Mysterio, you wouldn’t go to warehouses by yourself anymore! I mean, seriously! He could have killed you, Lena. Did you think about that? Do you know how worried I’ve been? I wake up and they tell me that you’re in surgery! And I just had to sit around and wait and no one wanted to tell me anything! I had to force it out of Winn! W-”

“Woah, Kara, slow down,” Alex cut off her sister. “She’s just waking up and she still has to heal, don’t stress her out.” She grabbed her sister’s hand reassuringly. “Though, I do have to agree with her on this one. That was probably one of the stupidest, yet bravest things I’ve seen. You have balls, Luthor,” the agent praised.

“Thanks. Where am I?”

“The DEO,” Alex informed. “Maggie didn’t want to risk taking you home and we were closer. I’m sorry, I know you hate it here.”

Lena nodded. She especially hated it more after Adrian’s story. “No one knows I’m here right? Like, Lena Luthor me?” Her brain still felt mushy and she couldn’t really form a coherent sentence but they seemed to understand what she was trying to ask.

“During surgery, I kept your face covered. No one knows who you are, I promise. I was very careful about the whole thing.” She knew that was true. Alex had to be careful about Kara’s secret identity, she Lena knew the older Danvers sister took every precaution to make sure no one found out who Spider-Woman was.

“I have also hacked the cameras to make sure no one can see into this room or see you exit, Boss,” Hope’s Irish voice chimed in. God, she loved her baby.

“What happened, though? Winn could only tell me from what he saw from nearby security footage, which isn’t much. And Hope wouldn’t budge until you were awake.” Kara moved away from Alex and to Lena’s side. “Adrian is in the hospital recovering but afterward, he’s got a one-way ticket to prison.”

“Good girl, Hope.” The lights brightened at the praise. Everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to tell the story. “Play the footage from when I entered the warehouse.” A screen was projected onto the wall and everyone, except Lena, sat and watched the events unfold.

Kara, after seeing her girlfriend tased, climbed into bed and cuddled Lena. The smaller woman felt warm and safe and started to nod off.

“Hope, does the DEO have a Doris here?” Maggie’s voice shook Lena from her quick snooze. The video had ended and they were all staring at the injured person with worry and awe.

“Yes. Species: Infernian. Name: Doris Toomes. Crime: Using powers to start a forest fire. Time in prison: Four years and 21 days.”

“This is just… disgusting,” Kara practically sobbed. 

“J’onn and I have been going back and forward with the President for days. I’ll have us fly there to DC as soon as possible. We won’t leave until we come to an understanding. Who knows how many of them have stories similar to this?” Alex looked distressed.

“Thank you, Alex.” Lena felt herself drifting back to sleep. “I need to show up to L-Corp tomorrow to avoid suspicion. Call me paranoid, but I can’t risk someone connecting the dots.”

“Lena!” The Kryptonian hissed. “No! You need to rest!”

She shook her head. “It’s Eve’s first day and I know CatCo will want to cover the story over what happened last night. I have to show up,” she tried to emphasize.

“Go into work for a little bit. Then I’ll come and drag you out under the pretense of asking if you knew about his ties to Cadmus or something. I’ll take you home instead. How does that sound?” Maggie asked.

“Fine,” Kara grumbled.

“Works for me. Hope, send the footage to Captain Saenz.” She snuggled into her girlfriend and got ready to fall asleep like that. “Thank you for saving my life, Alex. Don’t tell Jess, but your stitches look way better than hers,” she joked lightly.

“I did go to the best medical school in Seattle.” Her smile was fond but she had a far away look in her eye.

“I still can’t believe you put blue in your suit to try and cover your blood. It literally hid nothing,” Maggie laughed.

“I was delirious, I don’t know what I was saying!” She defended herself. “I’m going back to sleep. Please wake me up in time for work.”

“I will. I’ll take you home right now so we can avoid everyone in the morning,” Kara offered. Lena nodded sleepily against her chest and felt herself being picked up.

“G’night everyone. And please don’t throw away my suit, I wanna do something with it.” Everyone said goodnight and Lena fell asleep once they were out the door.

-

A few days had passed and Lena was mostly healed up by then. She wore suits to work with oxford shoes so she was somewhat comfortable and her bandages were hidden. Jess took the suit once or twice to keep up appearances and when she was too tired of being at work, one of her friends made an excuse so she could secretly sneak out and go home.

It was Wednesday now and she knew Toomes was still in the hospital. Alex and J’onn had left for DC yesterday and so far there had been no news. Lena had been itching to release Doris as soon as she could. With Alex and J’onn gone…

The sound of boots landing on her balcony grabbed her attention. “Hey, darling.” She kissed Supergirl and smiled at her. “What brings you by?”

Kara shrugged and leaned against the railing. “I was out doing patrol but then I had this feeling that you were planning something stupid so I had to come check on you.”

Lena blushed. “I wish my spider-sense worked like that with you.” She paused and bit her lip. “If I was planning something stupid, would you try and stop me?”

“How stupid are we talking?”

“Breaking Doris out so she can visit her husband in the hospital and then giving her a safe house in the city stupid?” Lena fiddled with her fingers anxiously.

Kara’s shoulders relaxed and she smiled brightly. “Phew, I thought you were going to say something like let’s destroy the DEO,” she joked. “If you have a full-proof plan that won’t get us caught, then I’m all for it. I really have been trying to wait for Alex to say something but it just feels so wrong waiting around.”

“Exactly! And in fact, I do have a plan.”

3 hours later, Supergirl hovered outside of the hospital with Doris in her arms. Spider-Woman was clinging onto the wall and looking through the windows. Hope already put the cameras on a loop so all they had to worry about was the guards.

“Okay, they’re on break now. Let’s go.” Spider-Woman opened the window and slid in. 

“What the-” Adrian’s words faltered when he saw Supergirl fly in through the window with his wife. “Doris?”

“Adrian!” She jumped out of the Super’s arms and towards the bed. He was handcuffed to the railing but did his best to hug her.

“How?” He questioned when she pulled back. She was crying now and was looking him up and down.

“They helped me escape!” She gestured to the super couple. “They said I could come see you!”

He looked confused. “But why? I almost killed you?!”

Spidey shrugged. “If I had a dollar for everyone who tried to kill me…” Supergirl smacked her. “I told you that I agree with you and I understand your motives. We’re trying to fix the DEO, but it’s going to take some time. This felt like something I could do right now. You’re still going to go to prison, but I can talk to the judges and see what I can do. I have a safe house for Doris ready to go and Lena Luthor has offered her a job position at L-Corp if she wants to take it. I am really sorry for what happened to the two of you,” she finished. Adrian burst into tears and his wife comforted him.

“We’ll be on lookout while you two catch up. Once you're in prison, we’ll be sure she’ll visit you every day,” Supergirl said. True to their word, the super couple left the room and waited on the roof. Hope would alert them when the guards were coming back.

It was a peaceful night. There were no crimes, no cars honking at each other. Lena was thankful for that. She may be in the suit now (her very first one) but her body was still aching. She wasn’t exactly up for stopping crimes.

“I love you,” Kara spoke all of a sudden. Lena looked at her and she was grateful her girlfriend couldn’t hear how her heart sped up. “I love you Lena Luthor. You are such an amazing person and I thank Rao for guiding me to you.” She lifted Spider-Woman’s mask and they shared a passionate kiss.

“Thank you. I’m thankful for Him too, for bringing you to me.” They kissed again and Lena melted in it. The world could be burning around her and it wouldn’t matter. As long as Kara was by her side, she was unstoppable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took inspiration for the Vulture from SM: Homecoming. In that movie, he seemed like a good guy (besides the fact that he was going kill a teenage boy) so I wanted to make this Vulture sympathetic too. Plus, all the more reason to bash on the Deo am I right?
> 
> Today marks 1 month that I've been on testosterone! Y'all don't understand how happy I am.
> 
> On a side note, I think I've mentioned before that I live in the San Diego area, right? Well, guess where the coronavirus virus is hitting right now? California. Lmao so hopefully I don't get sick.
> 
> Also, also. I love every single one of you. Whether you read and click out or read and leave a comment, I love you. It means a lot to me and I put so much effort into this fic and I'm glad you all are enjoying it. Have an amazing rest of the day :)


	14. Stepping Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of Kara POV for a change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed the rating to M just in case. Plus, I swear a lot in general.
> 
> I'm not dead. But someone close to me did die recently (not from coronavirus) so yeah. Short chapter, hopefully I'll have another up sometime this week.

“Hey, Kara,” James greeted as he walked towards her desk in the bullpen. “I was wondering if you had any leads on any major science news. Joe is out sick today and I need someone to write for the science column today. Figured you could ask Lena if she knows anything.”

The alien smiled at her friend. “I can go over and ask, no problem!” She would take this as an excuse to see her girlfriend.

“Cool. Text me if anything turns up.” He nodded at her and walked away. It was nearing 3 so Lena probably already had lunch, but Kara could still grab something to eat. Thank Rao for fast metabolisms.

She went to her favorite sushi place by CatCo before stopping at a coffee cart to grab something for Eve. She and Eve rarely spoke to each other when the latter worked at CatCo, but Kara managed to remember her coffee order. Maybe she should have gotten Sam a drink too. How did she even like her coffee?

“Kara!” Eve smiled at the alien. “Ms. Luthor is down in the labs but she’ll be up shortly.”

Kara handed the assistant her coffee. “She’s always in the labs nowadays, isn’t she?” Lena had mostly healed from the fight with the Vulture a week and a half ago, but she still hid away in the labs with Jess.

“I feel like I never see her in the office.” An odd expression passed over her face but it was gone as soon as it came. “Ms. Arias is a delight to work with, though. And her daughter is just the cutest!”

They continued their small talk on L-corp before chatting about the latest gossip at CatCo. For someone who didn’t work there anymore, Eve was pretty knowledgeable about the scandals happening in the office.

“Hey, Kara,” Lena smiled as she got closer. The Kryptonian stopped her sentence halfway and stared at her girlfriend. She was wearing a dark green turtleneck with a back pencil skirt and a black coat. Her makeup was on point, as always, and her hair was down rather than up. She looked like a goddess. “Kara?” The CEO grasped her girlfriend’s arm and that seemed to snap her out of her trance.

“Lena, hey! Hi!” Kara’s ears tinged red as Eve tried to suppress her giggles. “You look beautiful,” she complimented. The businesswoman blushed.

“Is that food I see? Come, you’re distracting Eve from her work.” Lena winked at the assistant and started towards her office. Sensing that Kara wasn’t following, she turned around and raised an eyebrow. Her girlfriend rushed over to her side in a jolt.

“I’m sorry, it’s just, you look, I mean,” Kara tried to explain. “Your muscles!” Okay, that was kind of dumb. “That shirt just fits you really well and I mean your arms look pretty strong. I mean, I know you’re strong, you can bench press a bus if you wanted. But, I mean, just wow.”

Lena chuckled and playfully flexed. “It’s alright darling, I think I know what you mean.” She sauntered over to her girlfriend and kissed her. “Your outfits tend to have the same effect on me,” she winked and walked over to the couch. “What’d you bring? I smell fish.”

“Sushi from the place by work.” She started unpacking the food on the table, her face still feeling warm, “I got a little bit of everything, wasn’t sure what you were in the mood for and I didn’t want to ask because I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Thanks, love.” The shorter woman grabbed one of Kara’s hands and kissed her knuckles. “Not that I don’t enjoy seeing you, but what brings you to L-Corp? You usually surprise me with lunch earlier than this.”

“Guilty.” She broke the chopsticks and started to eat. “James was wondering if you or any of your associates have anything for the science section. Weren’t you and Dr. Octavius close to finishing with the project?”

Lena looked down at her plate and pursed her lips. “It’s actually on a halt right now. Things were going well until we took a look at the brain scans. The chip is supposed to be in contact with the parietal lobe and the basal ganglia so the arms can function as an extension of the body. Instead, it’s interfering with something completely different. The frontal lobe and the limbic system. Dr. Ocatvius is an expert on the brain and I’m an expert on technology, so we figured we could mesh together and create this. We ran a couple of tests already and I’m afraid it was slowly distorting him. He wasn’t very pleased when I put the project on pause.”

Kara nodded along and plopped another sushi roll into her mouth. “Do you think it’s permanent?”

“No. We’ll wait a couple of weeks while we tweak the chip before trying again. Right now, he’s perfecting the arms.” She sat up straight and walked over to her hidden wall. “Which reminds me, I’m halfway finished with your suit!” Kara watched as her girlfriend disappeared into the room she didn’t even know was there. Of course, it was lead-lined. It probably had some of her spider gear in there.

Lena handed Kara a pair of glasses identical to the ones she had on. “My suit is in here?” She examined the glasses and found nothing out of the ordinary.

“Yes. I’ve noticed that when you take your glasses off to change, you use your right hand to take them off. So, I put two small sensors right here-” she ran her fingers along the right temple and pointed at a spot near the hinge- “Only when you apply pressure at this specific point will your suit come out. There are still some bugs I want to work out and it’s not Kryptonite proof yet, but I wanted to show you what I’ve done so far.” Lena looked so excited that it made Kara’s heart swell.

“Let’s see what you’ve been able to whip up, Ms. Luthor.” Kara traded the glasses and took a deep breath. She put pressure where Lena showed her and when the glasses were completely off her face, they melted away towards her body. She looked down in amazement as a suit started to appear on her. “Pants!” She shouted happily. Once the suit was finished, she turned in a circle and looked at the reflection in the window. “I love it,” she declared honestly. When she turned back to her girlfriend, the inventor was mumbling to herself as she wrote notes down.

“Needs faster response time, add thumbprint, loosen up on the lead,” she continued to write quickly and Supergirl shook her head fondly.

“I’m impressed, babe,” she said once Lena finally looked up. “I can’t wait until you finish this. How’s your new suit coming along?”

“Oh, I finished it yesterday. I haven’t had time to test it out, but I’m sure it’s fine,” she responded distractedly since she was still looking over Kara’s costume. “The cape is going to be a nuisance to add on, the glasses are so thin. How would you feel about wearing a bracelet or a watch every day? I can split the suit up that way so it’s faster and more efficient.”

“Sure,” Kara shrugged. She could pull anything off. “How do I take this off?” After taking the suit off, Lena walked back to the secret room and Kara peeked inside. It did have some of Lena’s spider stuff - web-shooters, web formula, the Mark I, and even the Mark III that was still torn up and bloody was on the table. “Can I see your new suit or are you holding out on me?”

“It’s nothing exciting,” she tried to play it off. But, being the attentive girlfriend that she was, the Kryptonian noticed her heart spike in excitement and her smile widened.

“Come on, Lee! You know I like it when you nerd out on me.” Which was true. Now that she didn’t have to act like she knew nothing about science, she liked to get into conversations about science with her geeky girlfriend.

“Well if you insist.” They made it back to the couch and Lena went on about how she made the suit. Since she always had an earpiece in and her bracelet and watch were web-shooters and nanotechnology already, they would melt into the suit and it would be the suit’s web-shooters. The actual suit was actually stored in two rings that she wore. Kara asked questions then the conversation switched to science in general and before they knew it, it was already almost 5.

“Shoot!” Kara exclaimed as she noticed the time on Lena’s watch. “I don’t have anything for James,” she panicked. Her girlfriend’s eyebrows shot up in alarm evidently, she forgot the reason the reporter had stopped by in the first place.

“One second.” Lena started typing away at her phone. After a couple of minutes, she smiled. “Harry Osborn would love to give CatCo an exclusive on a new environmental project he and I are going to collaborate on. I know game night is on Friday, so how about Thursday we have another get together? You, me, Harry, Sam, Ruby, Jess, Pam, Maggie, and Alex if she wants to. I’ll cook again.”

“I don’t think your house is big enough for all of us.”

“We can be in the backyard. I don’t know how to BBQ, but I’m sure we can figure that out together, right?”

“Of course.” As long as she didn’t use her heat vision, Kara could manage a grill. She should watch some Youtube videos on it later, though. Just in case.

“I’ll let everyone know. Are you going out for patrol tonight?” The Spider asked as she cleaned up the containers.

Kara thought about it. She was going to lay in bed and watch Netflix, but if she got to spend time with her girlfriend, well. It was a no brainer. “If you are, then I am.”

“You  _ did _ say I should give this new suit a go. Afterward, we can get cookies and ice cream. I’ve been craving it ever since you took me there last week,” she accused.

“I’ll remember no peppermint this time,” she teased. Lena visibly shuddered. She could no longer enjoy peppermint or cinnamon thanks to the accursed spider bite.

“I’ll see you tonight at 8, darling.” They shared a kiss and Kara skipped out of the office and waved goodbye to Eve. She texted James about the interview and went behind an alley to fly back to CatCo. She had some articles she had to edit before her date tonight.

“The eyes glow, woah!” Supergirl pointed out. 

“Want to see the cool part?” The superhero nodded vigorously. “Hope?” Four mechanical arms jutted from the back of the suit. They looked like spider arms. “Rao Lena. That is so freaking cool!”

“Right? I was hanging out earlier and I accidentally scared some people with it. I look very spider-like like this.”

“There’s a hold up at a convenient store. Ready Spidey?” Spider-Woman nodded and jumped on her girlfriend’s back. Her spider-sense had calmed down significantly when it came to flying and Lena found herself not as afraid of heights as she used to be. They shot off into the night sky ready to beat some thugs up.

Kara loved Lena, there was no doubt about that. Seeing her as Spider-Woman had just reinforced that love. Spidey was all jokes, easy banter, and just the right amount of aloofness. Her fighting style was elegant, not a single move wasted if she could help it. There was obviously room for improvement, but Kara was impressed by her girlfriend yet again. It had only been almost four months since she had gotten her powers and she was able to fight and quip so easily.

“Oo, he need some milk,” Spider-Woman quipped as the last goon fell.

“Vine references, really?” Supergirl laughed.

“Ruby loves them. She’s going to start a compilation of all the times I use them during a fight. I already sent Maggie the location of these guys, there’s a jewelry heist happening on Broadway and 2nd, let’s go.” The Super flew up and caught the web her girlfriend threw towards her. Within a matter of seconds, they were on top of the museum. “I’ve got this.”

Spider-Woman dropped down the hole the goons made and Supergirl peered into it to see the fight unfold. If things started to go south, she’d hop in. For now, she’ll let her girlfriend do her thing.

“There was a jewelry meeting and I wasn’t invited?” Spider-Woman asked the four men below her. They were carefully trying to remove the glass box that covered a pearl necklace.

“It’s Spider-Woman!” One of them shouted. They all looked towards her and raised their guns.

“Oh really, where?” Lena landed on the floor and started to disarm the men. “Sorry, I get nervous around celebrities. What do I say?” She dodged a punch and used the butt of the rifle to knock him out. “I mean she’s super famous, right? Do you think I could get an autograph?” She finished off the last guy and webbed them together. “Oh well! At least you can tell your prison buddies you met a celebrity! See ya later!” She shot a web up and exited the building.

Supergirl smiled fondly at the woman before her. “I love you.” Using her x-ray vision, she saw Lena flush at that.

“Thank you. One more hour and then cookie time?” The Super nodded.

It was nearing 11 when they finally made it to the ice cream shop. The worker perked up when she saw Supergirl and Spider-Woman walking in.

“W-Welcome!” She looked wide awake now. “Whenever you’re ready, let me know.”

The couple nodded and walked over to the ice cream flavors. It was fairly cold outside but when you’ve got cravings, you’ve got cravings.

“I’ll have 3 chocolate chip cookies and 3 oatmeal cookies. Can I also have a brownie sundae with vanilla ice cream? Oh, and a banana split. Strawberry, mint chocolate chip, and strawberry cheesecake, please,” Spider-Woman ordered.

“Babe, that’s like twice the strawberry,” Supergirl chided before ordering for herself. Spidey pulled out a $100 from her suit and told the cashier, who was already freaking out, to keep the change. Within ten minutes, steaming hot cookies and their ice cream orders were laid out in front of them.

Mimicking pulling her mask up, the nanobots retreated so Lena’s mouth was exposed. She ran her left hand over her right, then her right hand over her left so both hands were exposed. She dug right into the brownie.

They ate and chatted (with the Iron Spider, she had Hope modulate her voice even if her mask was up) while the cashier looked at them in awe. This was a hole-in-the-wall place that Kara frequented because they didn’t close until 2 am. As Lena finished up, she looked at her date.

There was a bit of ice cream on the corner of Supergirl’s mouth, some whipped cream on her nose, and sprinkles on her chin. It was adorable how unaware the woman was to the mess on her face. She was talking animatedly about a husky she had saved yesterday and Lena’s heart swelled. Kara was the epitome of sunshine and happiness and somehow, the alien managed to be the become of hope to Lena. She had somehow made the Luthor trust and open up. To be honest, she didn’t think she was entirely worthy of this love. Love. She had been so hesitant to say it, saying it would make the feelings real, but what was there to fear?

Spider-Woman leaned forward and cleaned her girlfriend’s face with a napkin. The Kryptonian stopped her musings and stared through the mask, directly at her girlfriend.

“I love you,” Lena whispered so quietly that she wasn’t sure Kara would be able to hear it, super hearing included.

“I love you too.” The gap closed and the kiss tasted like cookies and ice cream. A flash caused them to pull apart. “Guess the paparazzi found us,” she laughed.

Lena looked out the window and saw three men with cameras taking pictures. Her mask slid back over her face. “Take my home?”

“Why of course, my lady.” Supergirl bowed in front of Spider-Woman and the latter rolled her eyes and chuckled at her girlfriend’s antics. The taller woman got the Spider in a bridal carry and carried her home.

“Hey honey did you see the-” Lena cut off her sentence so suddenly that Kara turned around to see if something was wrong. The raven-haired woman was standing still while her eyes raked over Kara’s body. Since she ran warm and it was a warm night, she decided on a tank top with a flannel and some cargo shorts. She realized that Lena had never seen her dressed like this and was transported to the moment she saw her girlfriend in a turtleneck.

“Like what you see?” The alien teased as she put down some hamburger patties.

“I do,” Lena agreed. She walked over to Kara and wrapped her arms around her. “You look handsome.” Warmth spread through the alien’s entire body but some shot straight down to her stomach. 

“You were looking for something?” Her voice did not come out higher. Nope. Absolutely not.

“The condiments, but I see you already brought them out. I’ll start setting the table while you grill. Remember, no heat vision!” Kara rolled her eyes but nodded anyway. That earned her a kiss on the cheek.

As it turned out, grilling wasn’t  _ all _ that hard. It required patience and a good eye. And a strong will. Kara almost ate food right off the grill. She couldn’t help it! It was right in front of her and smelled so good. They had hamburgers and hotdogs (they even had vegan versions for Pam and Maggie), about two dozen of each, Lena made a potato salad (seriously what was up with her and salad?), chips, and SunnyD. It was almost as if they were having a party.

“I see you, Kara!” Lena shouted from somewhere inside the house. Kara slowly lowered the hotdog. How did she know? “Because you did a good job grilling, I’ll allow you one for now.” She picked up the hotdog that was previously put down and offered it with a raised brow. Rao, this was more sexual than it needed to be. Kara took it in her mouth and didn’t miss the way Lena’s heart stuttered at the sight. To turn the tables on her girlfriend, she kept going until her lips reached her girlfriend’s fingers.

“Thank you,” she smirked. It wasn’t often Lena Luthor was rendered speechless, so Kara was going to revel in this for a second.

The vigilante cleared her throat. “I- Uh- The door!” She practically ran inside and the woman left behind laughed. She glanced at the time and noticed it was almost 7. She started to put the food out and was surprised by weight on her back.

“Supergirl!” Ruby cheered.

“Hey, kiddo!” She fixed them so she had Ruby in a proper piggyback hold. She then ran around the yard while the younger girl cheered. Lena’s yard was fenced, but Kara didn’t want to risk anyone seeing her so she only floated a bit off the ground. When Sam and Lena walked out, she headed towards them and squatted down. “The spaceship has now landed. Enjoy the rest of your day!” The girl giggled as she climbed off.

“Dork.” Lena kissed her cheek.

“Yes, but I’m  _ your _ dork,” Kara booped her nose and Sam laughed.

“You are both sickening sweet.” She pretended to gag.

“You should see Alex and Maggie together.” Her sister was an absolute badass. Until it came to the detective. With her girlfriend, she was an absolute puppy.

“No thanks. I think I’ve seen enough of that,” Lena scoffed. Sam once again laughed and Kara pretended to not have heard that.

By 7:15, everyone had arrived. Kara was thankful because she was very hungry and it was torture making the food but not being able to eat it.

“Damn Danvers, I’m surprised this is edible. After your sister’s attempts at cooking, I wasn’t too sure how I’d feel about this,” Maggie said. Alex hit her in the arm.

“Hey! I thought you said you liked my cooking,” the older Danvers sister pouted.

“So I could get laid and not sleep on the couch, yeah.” Harry spat out his drink, Sam choked on her food, Jess face-palmed, Pam tried to suppress her laughter, and Alex humphed and crossed her arms.

“Well now that you said that, you are sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“Babe!” Maggie pleaded. “I was joking. Mostly!” She flashed her dimples but Alex wasn’t backing down.

“Nice one, Sawyer,” Lena teased. “I’ll let you out of the dog house, you can crash here.”

“So I can wake up in the middle of the night to you blowing up your lab again? I’m good. I’ll take my punishment like a woman.”

“Still sleeping on the couch.” 

“Damnit!” 

The conversation idled while people ate. Though, Harry and Maggie were getting along as well as Sam and Alex. Ruby was talking to Jess and Lena about wanting to go into advanced science once she started middle school. It was kind of surprising how this big group of people managed to somehow bond. Even Ruby was able to fit in with the group and she was only 12.

Soon enough it started to get dark so everyone headed inside. Kara turned on the ps4 for Ruby so she could play a video game while the adults got drunk. Before drinking, Harry pulled her aside so they could do the interview she promised James. Turns out that he and Lena are going to build research stations to monitor the city and make sure there isn’t too much pollution. Once those are built, they’ll work on one closer to the ocean to monitor the wildlife there.

After the interview was over, it was her, Lena, and Ruby on the couch while the others were in the kitchen drinking.

“What game is that?” Lena asked as she sipped her capri sun.

“Minecraft.”

Ruby spent the next half hour explaining the game to both adults and even went into her conspiracy theories about the game. Kara found herself invested and swore to do more research on the game when she had time so she could play with the girl. For now, she’d at least try and write a draft so she had something to send to her boss the next day. She pulled her laptop from her book bag and started typing away.

-

This is from the game and it cracked me up so hard I had to ss it.

In case it’s too blurry:

**SpiderNerdArmy:** Yesss! My Spider-Man x Self-Insert fanfic is almost complete! 😍😍😍

\- **Reply from ESUBoo** :

> Don’t you think that’s a little too self-indulgent?

\- **Reply from SpiderNerdArmy** :

> I think we can all afford to be self-indulgent sometimes. This is more for me than anyone else, and I’m not hurting anyone writing it so…

\- **Reply from ESUBoo** :

> Fair enough, sorry to be so judgmental. Can’t wait to read your fic! 👍

\- **Reply from SpiderNerdArmy:**

> Aw thanks ESUBoo, that means a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be sporadic. I bet you can guess who the next villain is, huh. I have a twitter account solely to upload the pictures I take from the game to upload, do you want me to use it as a twitter for the fic? Like for updates and stuff?
> 
> This is [my tumblr.](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked)
> 
> This is Spidey!Lena's [spotify playlist.](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3u4wox2zAJV1uhqZ5TaQ3q)
> 
> This is Serendipity [as vines.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deeqnubwl2k&list=PL9WQHWa8ho4nmgHLiFTHOOVH7RC0E57wc)


	15. Sigh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not the villain you thought it'd be this chapter oops. A little bit of angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was working on a little edit thing.... I'm super excited to share it with y'all but it won't be until another chapter or two.

“Ms. Luthor, it’s so nice to see you!” Lena looked up from her phone to see a perky brunette.

“Elizabeth Brant, right?” The woman in question continued to stare at the young CEO.

Lena smiled, causing the woman to nod and say, “Sorry, I’m a huge admirer of yours. Really big fan. I’ve seen all your TedTalks and read the papers you’ve published. They’re brilliant!”

“Thank you, Elizabeth.” Lena desperately fought the shit-eating grin from appearing on her face. 

“I, uh, actually go by Betty, if you don’t mind. Oh! Can I get you a coffee? You take it black, right? I’m not stalking you-” she amended when she saw Lena raise an eyebrow- “Eve emailed me to let me know you’d be spending more time at CatCo, so I emailed her back asking for some of your favorite things.”

“Well, thank you. Yes, a coffee would be lovely.” She only had 4 hours of sleep since she stayed up until 2 again tinkering in the lab.

“Great!” Elizabeth started walking towards the main lobby.

“Uh, Betty, why don’t you just use this elevator? It’ll go straight to the ground floor.”

She seemed petrified by the notion. “Oh, no, only the boss can use it.” Must’ve been a Cat thing. James really kept that enforced?

“That’s just silly. Anybody who needs it should be able to use it. Go ahead,” she prompted.

“All right. Thanks, Ms. Luthor, I’ll be back soon.” With that, the assistant scurried off towards the elevator. Just as the businesswoman turned around, she ran into James Olsen.

“Ms. Luthor,” he spoke with wide eyes. “I didn’t know you’d be here this morning.” She enjoyed the ‘deer caught in headlights’ expression he had.

“Yeah, I was able to get things in line over at L-Corp so I could spend more time here.” It really was about time she spent some time here. She might have bought it for her girlfriend, but she was determined to make Cat Grant proud of her.

“That’s good.” His expression clearly showed the opposite. “I wanna say thanks again for saving CatCo. And we should really figure out a way to get you up to speed on what’s happening here. I was thinking of weekly meetings or…” he trailed off as they walked towards the office.

“Oh, no, there’s no need. I’ll be here every day.” The cheeky smile she gave him was well worth it.

“Every day?” He choked.

“Yes. As I said - I’ve set things up at L-Corp so I’ll be able to dedicate my energies to learning the ins and outs of how things work at Catco.” After a pause, she added, “You seem surprised by this.”

He nodded dumbly, “Yeah...yeah.” She resisted rolling her eyes. Lena Luthor was a businesswoman. James was foolish if he honestly thought she wasn’t going to start taking over at some point. This was an investment and she was going to take care of Cat’s baby - not let it spiral out of control as it already was.

“Lena!” Kara walked into the office with a bright smile on her face. “Welcome to CatCo.” She handed her girlfriend a notebook.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s a Danvers family tradition. On the first day of school, you get a planner,” she explained. Lena smiled. A Danvers tradition.

“Well, it’s lovely. In the Luthor house on the first day, we would hire a private investigator to make sure our teacher’s credentials were up-to-date,” she tried to joke. Everyone just awkwardly laughed.

James turned to the young reporter. “Kara, s-so, you knew that Ms. Luthor would be here today?”

“Uh,  _ yeah _ . She  _ is _ my girlfriend,” she laughed lightly. James had a tight lip smile.

Lena decided to take some pity on him. “I should’ve communicated more clearly, Mr. Olsen. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” It most likely was going to happen again. Multiple times, perhaps.

“No, no, it’s no problem,” James lied. “I mean, I feel bad because we just… we’re not ready for a change in management. We don’t even have an office for you, but I…” he tried for an excuse.

“Oh, no, that’s fine. I won’t be needing an office. It’s this new trend in CEOs, we like to roam free, ask questions, and hear unfiltered conversations. That way we can understand how things are working. It’s much easier when you don’t have a desk,” she teased. Lena honestly didn’t need a big office, just a desk or something for paperwork. “Kara, do you think you might be able to get me the dossier on the Edge investigation, please?” That would be her first part of business: finding dirt on that asshole.

Kara’s phone rang and she frowned. “Something’s up at the DEO. Can I get it for you later? Is that okay?”

“Sure, yeah.”

“Sorry. I’ll be quick.” Looking around to make sure no one was looking, Kara gave Lena a chaste kiss and zipped away. Maybe she did need an office here after all...

“Um,” Mr. Olsen cleared his throat. “Ms. Luthor, I’d be happy to have someone else do that for you.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I can get it,” she promised. He nodded and she walked out of the office. This was the perfect opportunity to see what the people were up to, the vibe James set. 

Was it cheating if she used her super-hearing to listen to conversations? Perhaps. Since not many people had noticed her come in, she sat at Kara’s desk looking through the sticky notes she left on her table. They ranged from  _ article due today by 5 _ to  _ don’t stare too long at Lena’s lips when she is here _ to  _ stop ripping the shirts, Lena likes them _ . Lena rolled her eyes fondly and only barely stopped herself from jumping in her seat by Betty’s sudden presence. Guess her spider-sense didn’t see her as a threat.

“Black coffee. It’s from a fresh batch.” Betty placed it in front of her. “This is Kara’s desk, she’s in and out all the time, tracking down leads for stories and all that. But you probably know that already since you’re, you know,” she whispered.

Lena chuckled. “Quite right.” She raised the cup to her lips and subtly sniffed it. Seeing that there was nothing wrong, she took a sip. “So Betty, you’ve been James’ assistant for a while now, right? Why don’t you catch me up on what’s been going on here?”

“Sure!” She already knew most things because of Kara and Eve, but it was important to build a relationship with the employees here as well. She’d have to get the names of the department heads and hopefully make a meeting. Get to know them and get a feel for the people here. She really had her work cut out for her.

About an hour later, Lena was still chatting with Betty. Kara hadn’t returned and just as she was about to text her, Maggie’s face lit up.

“Sorry, I’ve got to take this.” The assistant nodded and Lena went through James’s empty office, out onto the balcony. “Hey, Maggie. I’m assuming this is about Kara?”

“Uh, yeah. Something happened. I’m not sure what, but she’s really shaken up. Alex still isn’t back and I don’t know what to do.” Today was the 7th day now that Alex and J’onn have been in D.C. What was taking them so long? Though changing the way a whole secret government organization runs would take some time.

“Shit, okay. Where are you?” Lena headed straight to the elevator and scolded herself for not having her spider.

“The DEO. She says she’s fine, but she freaked out earlier so I’m not letting her leave yet.”

“Keep her there, I’m on my way.” She stepped out of the elevator and ducked into a nearby alley. She might not have had her spider, but she had the rings that contained the Iron Spider. “Hope, the cameras, please?” She paused then activated the suit. She scaled the wall and started swinging towards the DEO.

Kara was shaken up. And she freaked out. What had happened? What could possibly shake the Kryptonian up so badly? Was it a fight gone wrong? She didn’t want to check the news in case it worsened her anxiety. If something happened, why hadn’t Kara called her? Was it an alien? With her thoughts spiraling, she hadn’t noticed that she arrived.

“Spider-Woman!” Winn greeted her. “First off, I’ve got to say this suit is the coolest one by far in my opinion. Is it pure nanotechnology?” The glowing eyes focused on him and he recoiled. “Right. Kara is this way. Nothing is physically wrong with her, but it seems likely she had a panic attack of some sort. That could be from the psychic presence that we detected was in her head.”

“Psychic presence?” Spidey repeated as they rounded the corner.

“Yeah. Since J’onn isn’t here, we can’t really do much about it, but it seems like we have a metahuman on our hands. I’m already looking into it, I’ll send Lena all the information once I get it.”

They stopped outside of the med door and she saw Supergirl sitting on a cot, Maggie next to her with a worried expression. She turned to Winn. “Thank you, Winn. I appreciate it.” She patted his shoulder and walked into the room.

“Darling? Are you okay?” She bent down in front of Supergirl and was startled by the dullness in her eyes. “What happened?”

“It was a bank robbery. But when she confronted the robber, something happened. I went in and she was on the floor. She looked petrified.” Spider-Woman took one of her girlfriend’s hands and rubbed her thumb over the knuckles.

“Can you take me home?” That was probably the quietest Lena had ever heard Kara.

“Of course, love. I’ll call for a car to come round.”

“No!” Supergirl’s free hand clutched Spidey’s bicep. “No car,” she whispered.

“Okay. No car.” She scrunched her eyebrows. What happened? “I’ll take us web-swinging then, okay? Do you trust me enough to do that?” The blonde nodded. “Okay. Are you hungry? I can have Hope order something.”

“No. Let’s just go home.” Lena and Maggie exchanged worried looks.

“Okay. Here, get on my back.” A piggyback ride would be easier to swing through the city. Last time she had Supergirl in a fireman’s carry and that was a real hassle. “I’ve got this,” she promised Maggie.

They walked out of the infirmary and Spider-Woman went to the balcony. They received a few odd looks but she didn’t care. Her priority was getting Kara home and taking care of her.

“Hold on tight,” she instructed. Kara strengthened her grip and the Spider shot a web to the opposite building. “Hope, let Mr. Olsen know that both Kara and I won’t be in for the rest of the day.”

“Right away, Boss. I’ve also got the security footage from Supergirl’s fight for you if you wish to review it later.”

“Thanks, Hope. I love you.” The suit lightly vibrated and Lena had to assume that was her AI’s way of showing that she was happy.

Within a couple of minutes, she landed on the wall right outside of Kara’s apartment. She opened the window and slipped inside, carefully placing her girlfriend down on the couch.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She allowed the suit to recede back into the rings.

“Let’s get comfortable first. Then I’ll talk about it.” Lena nodded and led them into the bedroom. She picked some comfy pjs for Kara and threw on a hoodie and sweats herself. Once they were changed, they cuddled on the bed. Kara taking the little spoon.

They laid in silence for a bit. “You seemed a bit shaken up, what happened?” Lena spoke quietly so she didn’t startle her girlfriend.

“It was a bank robbery. I went to confront her, and, I don’t know. She did something to me.” Kara took a deep breath. “One moment I’m standing in the vault and the next I-I’m, I, I-I’m back on Krypton.” Her whole body shuttered and Lena tightened her grip. “I saw my mom. She was talking to me, trying to explain that she was sending us to Earth. My father was there, too. He was standing behind her, watching. They were on the verge of tears, I didn’t know what was happening.

She told me to get into the pod, so I did. Kal’s pod shot off just as mine was closing. Everything was shaking- the whole planet vibrating. They stood there, watching me. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” A sob wracked her body and Lena felt for Kara. She started to run her fingers through the blonde hair, knowing that her girlfriend found that to be soothing. “The robber was standing over me and it just got worse. I- The pod. I was just - there. Kal-El’s pod shot off in front of me. I turned to see if I could see my parents one last time, but Krypton exploded. I felt the heat of the planet. It was almost unbearable until a piece hit my ship. I then found myself suddenly off course, into the Phantom Zone,” she managed through tears. Lena knew about Krypton exploding, but she never heard about the Phantom Zone. That explained why Kara got to Earth later than Clark did.

“I’m so sorry, Kara.” Lena wasn’t even sure words could soothe the alien. That was such an awful experience and she had to relive it all.

“That’s not even the worst part.” Kara rolled onto Lena and rested her head on the shorter woman’s chest so she could focus on the heartbeat. “The Phantom Zone is this pocket in space. There’s no life. No sound. It’s endless darkness. I was in there for years, Lena.  _ Years _ .” The grief in her voice made Lena’s heart ached for her. “Stuck in a broken pod with no way to escape. I had gone into a deep sleep at one point, but I remember what it was like. It was cold. The only thing I could hear was my heartbeat. I just saw my home planet explode. My parents die. My life as I knew it was destroyed. And then I was just stuck there. In a cold, neverending pocket in space, not knowing if I was ever going to get out of there. It was hell.” Kara’s tears were soaked through Lena’s shirt.

“That sounds awful, babe. You’re okay now, though. You’re here. You’re safe. I’ve got you.” The vigilante continued to soothe her girlfriend until the alien’s tears stopped and she eventually fell asleep. 

It was barely 4 in the afternoon, but the Kryptonian deserved her rest. Lena didn’t know much about Krypton except what she read from Lex’s journals or what Kara told her. But to have seen her planet explode then to be stuck in space all alone for years? That must have been maddening. She was going to find whoever made Kara relive that and make them pay.

“Hope, I need you to find whatever you can on psychics and use the notes Winn sent us to see if there is a way to make dampeners. I doubt our regular metahuman cuffs will work on her.” She thought about her friends on Earth-1 and how they were metahuman experts. “Contact Cisco and see if he has any tips for us. This bitch is going down.”

“Of course, Boss. It’ll probably take me the rest of tonight to get everything together,” Hope’s Irish voice told her through the earpiece.

“That’s fine. Can you please place an order from Kara’s favorite place and have it delivered at 8 pm? And make sure it’s double the usual.”

“I think they’ll probably be sold out by that much,” her AI joked. “The order has been put in. Even the Mrs. will have trouble finishing that amount.” Lena blushed and chose not to respond to that.

Lena left Kara’s apartment early since she had a meeting at 8 at CatCo. They had spent dinner in silence mostly, Kara still feeling uncomfortable about breaking down crying. When they moved on to dessert, Lena got her girlfriend to talk about her happy memories of her home planet. Lena asked about her parents and the technology and soon Kara was able to calm down.

“So why wasn’t I at the meeting?” James’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Well, to be honest, I thought you would be too busy to act as my chaperone,” she snarked. He acted like  _ he _ was the boss over  _ her _ .

“I don’t wanna chaperone you. I don’t consider myself a chaperone. I consider myself the person who’s been running this company for almost a month,” he replied. Lena counted to 10.

“All right, Mr. Olsen. I have a meeting with the advertising department in 20 minutes. See you then.” 

“See you in 19,” he shot back.

“20 will be fine.” She turned her around and rolled her eyes. Really? Why did people think that was a cool thing to say? She walked towards Kara’s desk. “Sorry I left so early. How are you?”

“I feel better,” she answered honestly. “I’m just distracting myself with work for now.”

Lena frowned. She looked around the room and most people seemed to avert their eyes from them. Good. “How about you come over later and I make that lasagna you like? Then I’ll tuck you in so I can patrol tonight. You deserve some rest.”

“I don’t want you out there while Psi is still on the loose. So much has happened to you…” Kara trailed off.

“I’ll be fine,” she interjected. “Cisco sent over some notes and Jess is working on something right now. After this meeting, I’m going to head over and help her with it.”

“I don’t know,” Kara still seemed hesitant.

Lena kissed the hero’s cheek. “Psi is going to regret messing with you. No one hurts you and gets away with it. Let me be your hero this one time, okay?” She murmured in her ear.

The alien’s eyes widened. She knew how much her girlfriend hated being called a hero. “Okay. I’ll be looking forward to the lasagna, so don’t stay in the labs all day.”

“I’ll do my best not to.” Lena smiled and glanced at her watch. “I’ve got another meeting to get to right now. See you later, love.” She squeezed the reporter’s hands before heading to the elevator.

“Jess!” Lena dove across the room and pushed her friend to the side. Not even a second later did the wall explode. Psi, or Gayle Marsh as Lena had learned, walked through the smoke.

“Is this the R&D floor?” Gayle looked around but Lena stayed still over Jess’s body. “Looks like it. Now to find those blueprints…” The psychic walked out of the room and another explosion was heard.

“T-Thanks, Lena,” Jess coughed. The CEO nodded frantically and ran over to the table.

“Do you think they’re ready?” Lena picked up the circlet that she and Jess had been working on for the past 2 hours.

“Can’t say for sure, but most likely. Lena, you can’t go after her! We don’t know if it’ll work!”

“She’s blowing up my building, Jess!” Another explosion. “She’s looking for something. I need to stop her.” The Iron Spider suit was activated. “I guess we’re about to find out if this works or not.” The Spider put the circlet on her waist and added the metahuman cuffs to the other side.

Jess’s face tightened and she crossed her arms. “I’m calling Maggie. Now, go! Who knows who else she’s hurting right now.” Spider-Woman nodded and rushed out the door.

Some of her employees were on the ground, probably reliving their biggest fear just as Kara had. She followed the bodies until she saw the wall to her R&D files blown completely off. What was she looking for? Before the Spider could investigate, something heavy flew out of the room. Quickly, she realized it was Dr. Octavius with the arms they were working on.

“Pathetic. Nice try playing hero, though.” Psi stood over him and the doctor’s body trembled. If he had the arms on, then he had the chip that altered his brain on as well. And if he had that on while fighting Gayle, who knew what the damages were?

“Hey! Step away from him!” Lena shot a web but Psi hopped back.

“If it isn’t National City’s famous Web-Head,” the criminal mocked. “You got here way faster than I thought. I already have what I need though, so-” she shrugged- “maybe next time.” She threw down a smoke grenade and ran for it.

“Not on my watch. Hope, track her!” Spider-Woman started chasing after the criminal but hesitated when she got to her work partner. He was alive so that was good.

“Go straight and turn left at the end of the hall, Boss. I’m also patching Detective Sawyer through.” The Spider nodded and ran ahead, leaving the scientist behind.

“Psi is at L-Corp? Why?” The vigilante could hear the sirens from the patrol car.

“No idea. Stole some blueprints. I don’t have anything worth stealing. Or at least not something worth her time.” Lena was ahead in technology to save the world from global warming, but she doubted her rivals would go that far to get some ideas from her. There might have been some old blueprints for prototypes, but she wasn’t sure what it could’ve been.

“We’re 7 minutes out.” Spider-Woman spotted Psi jumping out of the window.

“The fight is moving. Hope, keep the line connected and keep her updated on our positions.” Then, the Spider jumped out of the window herself.

She shot a web and swung higher to get more airtime. Spotting Gayle, Spidey angeled her body towards her and freefell until she was right below her. She shot webs to the psychic’s feet and pulled down. As they fell towards the ground, Lena made a safety net out of her web fluid.

“You’re not going to get me that easy, Spider.” Psi climbed out and pulled out a pistol, shooting at the vigilante. Lena rolled her eyes. The suit was bulletproof.

“Give it up, Gayle. I’ve got you.”

“We’ll see about that.” Just as Lena was about to grab the woman, the world started to spin. “I brought the Girl of Steel to her knees. I wonder what your fear is?”

Lena tried to fight the feeling but to no avail. She was standing over Jack Spheer’s dead body. 

“Why did you kill me?” She whipped around to see Jack standing in front of her. “You killed me in cold blood.” She glanced at the dead body and its eyes opened to stare at her.

“I-I couldn’t save you,” she croaked as she took a step back.

“You’re smart, Lena. You could have saved me. You chose to kill me. You’re no different than your brother,” he spat.

“No! I didn’t- I couldn’t!” She tried to explain. She wasn’t like Lex! She wasn’t!

“Really? That’s not what they think.” Jack shoved a newspaper in her face which showed her on the cover. The words  _ ‘Lex Luthor Isn’t The Only Murderer In The Family’ _ were front in center in bold. He flipped the page. “Supergirl reveals that Lena Luthor killed Jack Spheer and his assistant in cold blood,” he read. “She’s no different than her brother, honestly. She’s a villain and it’s my job to bring her down.”

The world was spinning faster as she dropped to her knees. Suddenly, there was a body under her. He was dressed in a cop’s uniform and there were two bullet holes in his chest. She recognized him as Metallo. She had shot him before he could kill Alex.

“I wasn’t even your first kill either. Do you get a kick out of it? Huh? Who’ll be next? Whose life will you ruin next?” Lena shook her head and tried to wipe her bloody hands off on her jeans. They seemed to only get bloodier.

“Spider-Woman! Spidey! C’mon kid, snap out of it!” Lena startled and jumped up, looking around in bewilderment.

“What happened? Where is she?” 

“Woah, calm down.” Maggie walked over to her and stopped when she noticed the vigilante flinch. “I got here just as she got to you. You managed to web her to the pole and I used the psychic dampeners and the cuffs you made. Worked like a charm.”

“She’s gone?”

“Yeah. You were out of it for a while there. Want me to take you home?”

“No. No. Just, stay away from me. I-I’ve got to go.” Spider-Woman’s head was still spinning but she knew she had to get home. She had to get out of there.

Spider-Woman crashed through her bedroom window and stumbled into the bathroom. She deactivated the suit and threw up in the toilet. It was fake. All that was fake. Nothing was real. It wasn’t real. But… it was. She really did kill those people. She looked down at her hands and noticed there was no blood on them. Why did she feel so dirty then? She stumbled over to the sink and turned the faucet on.

“I’m not like Lex. I’m not a killer. I’m not…” she scrubbed at her hands furiously but it didn’t feel like enough. She still felt dirty. Lena turned on the shower on the hottest setting and stepped right inside, clothes and all. “I’m not a killer,” she repeated over and over again as if saying that alone would save her from her spiraling thoughts. She sunk onto the floor of the shower and started to cry. The scalding hot water brought an odd sense of comfort.

“Lena?” Supergirl walked into the bathroom and her eyes zeroed in on her girlfriend crying on the shower floor. The room started to fill with steam. Kara took her boots off and sat behind Lena, bringing the body flush to her own. “I’ve got you, Lena. I’ve got you.”

Lena turned around and threw herself at her girlfriend. She was crying harder than when Mysterio used those illusions on her. It was probably the hardest she cried in all her life. As the sobs wracked through her body, Kara comforted her the best she could by saying sweet nothings and rubbing her back. Eventually, the metahuman was able to calm down.

“You’re still in your suit,” she pointed out through some hiccups.

“You’re still in your work clothes,” Kara countered with a smile on her face.

“I am.” Lena nodded dumbly. “It’s hot.”

“Yeah, it is,” Supergirl chuckled. “How about you take a proper shower and I go to Mexico to get tacos and that dessert you like?”

“Really?”

“Really,” Kara promised.

“Okay.” Lena hugged herself. In reality, she didn’t want to be alone right now, but the offer did sound enticing. “Sorry for seeing me like this.”

“It’s okay, Lena. I love you. You were there for me, so I want to be here for you.” Kara’s smile made her insides melt. “Take your time, okay? I’ll be back before you know it.” They kissed and Kara left to give her girlfriend some privacy.

Just as Lena stripped off her wet clothing, she heard the door open and close again, meaning Kara had probably left her a change of clothes. That made her smile. She turned the faucet so the water could be a slightly cooler temperature. The heavy feeling in her chest still persisted and the guilt weighed down on her. She understood how Macbeth felt after he murdered King Duncan. It didn’t seem to matter how hard or how much she scrubbed herself, the blood would never come off.

14 minutes later, Lena walked out of her bathroom, with Spider-Woman pajama bottoms and the NSYNC shirt she had stolen from Kara’s. She stepped into the bedroom and noticed the broken glass. Right. She’d have someone come by and fix that tomorrow.

The smell of food caught her attention and her stomach rumbled. She shuffled into the living room and saw a nest made of blankets on the couch. Kara, now in a panda tank top and joggers, started to pull food out of the bags.

“So I know I said I was going to get tacos, but then they had a deal on the enchiladas, so I got us that too. Then the guy next door offered me some tamales, and how could I say no to that? When I got your flan, the lady also gave me a churro, but I ate that on the way here, sorry,” she went on to ramble about her quick trip to Mexico. Seeing Kara happy even after what she had to relive yesterday made Lena’s heart swell with pride and love.

“I love you,” the younger woman said earnestly. She kissed her girlfriend deeply, savoring the warmth and the taste of the churro that lingered on her lips.

“I love you too.” Kara had a goofy, giddy smile. 

“Let’s watch Supernatural while we eat?”

The reporter heaved a dramatic sigh as she brought the food to the nest. “I don’t understand why you like the show so much. Our lives are almost as crazy as theirs. They have monsters, we have aliens. Our worlds are almost ending. Sam and Dean are badasses who fight against evil, Alex and I are badasses who fight against evil,” she started to list off.

“I don’t know. It makes me feel like at least our lives aren’t that crazy, you know?” Lena snuggled into her girlfriend. “Do you think that their lives are real somewhere in the multiverse?”

“Probably.” The alien ate a taco whole in one bite. “Better not try and track down their world!” She warned.

“That sounds like an amazing idea, daring. My next crossover,” Lena joked.

Kara huffed and stuffed another taco in her mouth. The show started and they ate in relative silence while the Winchester brothers worked on figuring out who the monster of the episode was. 

“You can talk to me about it, you know,” Kara mumbled into Lena’s ear. “I’m here for you. Always.” She nuzzled her girlfriend’s cheek with her nose. “Was it Lillian? Lex?”

Lena shook her head. “It was Jack, actually. And Metallo. You know, the people I killed.” She tried to play it off. 

“Metallo was about to kill Alex! And you couldn’t have saved Jack, you know that. I know that. He knew that! You’re not a murderer if that’s what you’re thinking.” Kara pulled back so she could look her girlfriend straight in the eyes. “You care about so many people, Lena. You have saved so many lives! You became Spider-Woman to make a change, and you have. Not to mention that you’ve saved this world from alien invaders and another world that wasn’t even yours from Nazis!”

“I killed Nazis. Great, I really am a murderer.”

“No!” She hugged Lena so tightly she was afraid she might actually break some of her bones. “That was a kill or be killed situation. You save people, babe. Remember when the Vulture tried to kill you and was about to be killed by the fire? You saved him and risked your life doing so. You also gave the push needed to change the DEO. Don’t even get me started on all the good L-Corp has done. You’re literally trying to save the planet by using your genius brain!” She ranted.

Lena closed her eyes and allowed Kara to be her safety blanket. “I still feel dirty and heavy.”

“You’re a pure soul, Lena. You have to forgive yourself. They weren’t your fault. I love you so much. I’ll make sure you never become like that, okay? Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me. And I’m going to show you how much of a hero you are.”

“I’m not a hero,” the vigilante fought back weakly.

“You’re my hero.” It was stupid and cheesy, but it made Lena laugh so that was all that mattered. “It’s dessert time. This episode is called Asylum, sounds creepy.” Kara grabbed the flan and vanilla ice cream. “You know I hate scary movies. I have no idea how you roped me into watching this with you.”

“So you’ll watch Wynonna Earp no problem but you’ll complain when it’s a couple of bad effects and jump scares?” Lena rolled her eyes and fully leaned into the Kryptonian. “Thank you, for being here with me. For saying all that stuff,” she whispered shyly.

“Always.” The blonde smiled and kissed the top of her girlfriend’s head.

With a jolt, Octavius’s eyes shot open. He was face down on a cold, metal table and there was the sound of a saw coming near him. Fear overtook him, the strongest primal instinct in his opinion, and he blanked for a couple of seconds. When he got his bearings back, he was standing in the middle of a surgical room with two dead doctors and a decapitated nurse. How did that happen? He turned his body and stumbled back from the reflection.

Otto Octavius had a hospital gown on but what scared him was what was on his back. Four mechanical limbs, that resembled tentacles more than anything, protruded from the harness he wore. The silver-grey stood out in the crisp, white room. But not as much as the scarlet blood that dripped off the tips of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter that I will use for the story](https://twitter.com/dr_halfblood) and, as always, [my tumblr.](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked) Also, if you haven't yet, check out [Spidey!Lena's playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3u4wox2zAJV1uhqZ5TaQ3q) and tell me which songs you like the best. Feel free to tweet or ask me on tumblr questions about the story or au prompts you want a one shot of or something. I'm super restless at home haha. Hope everyone is doing well!


	16. You Octopi My Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spider vs. Octopus. With a side of puns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I just realized there are a lot of villains who are doctors. Otto, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Jonathan Crane, just to name a few. I hate writing fight scenes so this chapter is most likely a let down haha sorry. But! Soft Suepercorp!

Dr. Otto Octavius felt like throwing up. Run! They were coming after him. Run. They were closing in. He fled from the hospital, into the middle of the street. They were coming. For him. They were going to kill him.

The car’s bright lights blinded him. He had to protect himself. He tried to cover his face with his arms but a crashing sound caught his attention. Looking up, he saw the car that was about to hit him was flipped over. Crash. He did that. Run. He had to run. He heard the guards yelling after him. He needed somewhere safe. Safe. He’s in danger. Run!

House. He had a house. Get there. Then rest. Just get there. Doctor Octavius ran.

Lena slapped her alarm clock and groaned. She  _ really _ didn’t feel like going into work today. But, the past two days she left early because of Psi, so she honestly had to go in today. She didn’t want to give anyone more reasons to underestimate her.

“Babe, five more minutes,” Kara mumbled as she gently pulled on Lena’s shirt. She turned to face her girlfriend and her retort got stuck in her throat upon the sight in front of her. Kara was pouting at her, one hand tucked under her cheek, the other fisting Lena’s shirt. Her hair was mussed up and her blue eyes were glossed over with sleep. There was a little trail of drool coming out of the corner of her mouth and she kept tugging on the shirt.

“Fine. Just five minutes. I mean it this time.” Last time they had slept with each other and Kara asked for five more minutes, they were nearly late to work. It was only because Supergirl flew that they made it on time.

“Mhm.” Kara wrapped her strong arms around the younger woman and brought their bodies together. For good measure, she entangled their legs together so Lena couldn’t escape as easily. “My little spider.”

The vigilante smiled and nuzzled her nose against the blonde’s neck, placing a soft kiss once she was comfortable. “I really mean five minutes. When the alarm goes off, I’m going to shower then make breakfast. No matter how much you pout.”

“You’re gonna leave me?” Kara asked as she combed through her girlfriend’s hair.

“You can join me in the shower if you want?” They’ve been dating for almost a month and hadn’t had sex, but not for lack of trying. Lena had her CEO duties at Catco and L-Corp, then had her Spider-Woman job. Kara had her reporter job and her Supergirl duties. Every time things got heated, an emergency happened.

“First time in your shower. How romantic,” she teased.

“We don’t have to do anything. I’m determined to have sex with you soon, darling. Once we finally do, it’s going to be mind-blowing,” she huskily whispered in her girlfriend’s ear. The alarm went off. “It’s up to you.” She managed to wiggle out of Kara’s grip and headed towards the bathroom. 

The Kryptonian entered the bathroom once Lena was already in the shower. “We can visit the idea of shower sex one day though, right?” She stripped what little clothing she had and hopped in.

“Most definitely. Wash my hair, yeah?”

After their shower, Lena started to make pancakes. She was in an excellent mood. Despite what happened yesterday, she felt like things were starting to look up. So of course, something had to happen.

“Boss?” Hope’s voice asked. Lena hummed in acknowledgment. “Would you like to hear the bad news or the good news first?” She sighed.

“Good news, please.” Kara started to mix the batter.

“Gayle Marsh stole blueprints to a hoverboard you were thinking of making for the children in the hospital.” Really? Psi broke into L-Corp to steal that? Of all the things she could have taken, why something she was going to make for children?

“But why?”

“I don’t know.” Lena decided to file that question away for later. “What’s the bad news, Hope?”

The lights flickered for a second before deciding on dimming. Kara raised her eyebrows at the odd behavior, but Lena knew her baby was worried about something. “I looked at the security footage and, when the first explosion went off, Dr. Octavius put on the harness despite your warnings not to. He followed Psi to the record room and confronted her. He took her by surprise and managed to get some hits in, but she used her powers on him. After you went after Psi, the paramedics took everyone to the hospital.” Lena nodded. She had Sam make sure her employees were getting the best care. In fact, she had to be at a press conference about it later.

“I know all of this, Hope. It’s okay, just tell me,” she prompted her AI.

“Last night, Dr. Octavius murdered two doctors and a nurse. He fled the scene and caused a car accident. The Daily Bugle somehow got the footage and made a broadcast. They call him Dr. Octopus and the police and now searching for him.” 

“No, no, no.” Lena paced the length of her kitchen. “This is bad. Show me the footage, please.” Hope projected it onto the wall.

Kara poured the batter with a frown of her face. “It doesn’t look like he meant to do that,” she pointed out. Lena wrung her hands together.

“No, he didn’t. This is bad. Very, very, bad.” She started to pace and somehow found her way on the ceiling. She continued to pace. “Were you able to track his location?”

“No.”

“Fuck, fuck, this is bad,” Lena repeated. Kara floated up, and turned upside down so she could hold her girlfriend’s hands.

“I know this is bad, but why are you freaking out?”

“This is bad, Kara. Do you remember why I stopped the project in the first place?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “The chip was affecting the frontal lobe and the limbic system. The frontal lobe is responsible for judgment and if damaged, it can change a person’s personality. They won’t be able to interpret their environment - they can’t assess risk and danger normally. And the limbic system is responsible for our fight or flight. Psi was able to get to him, use his fear against him. The amygdala is responsible for our fear, anxiety, and anger. There’s a high possibility that it was affected the most during the attack, which means his memories related to fear have been affected.

And like you said, it didn’t seem like he meant to do it. He reacted on instinct. He was scared and wanted the doctors to back off. Same thing with the car. He’s scared and confused and now he has these arms that are linked to his subconscious. There’s no telling what’s wrong with him or what he’ll do,” Lena ranted. She had to find him as soon as possible.

Kara stacked the pancakes on two plates. “You’re right, this is bad. What should we do? Want me to fly around and look for him?”

“Boss, there’s one more thing,” Hope said before Lena could respond. “The Daily Bugle has the footage. It won’t be long until they see that the arms are L-Corp technology. Once they see the logo, they’ll spin a story and pin it on you.” Great.

“Okay. Okay.” Lena took a deep breath and hopped down from the ceiling, onto the floor. Kara followed her down. “Let me deal with this, please? I already have a press conference today at noon, I’ll just have to write my own speech. Don’t engage Octavius, please dear? He’s scared right now and I don’t want to mess with his brain as it is.”

“What if he comes after you?”

“I can handle myself. I created the arms with him, perhaps I can hack into it and stop it. If you were to fight him, I’m afraid your strength may accidentally short circuit something,” the CEO reasoned.

“Okay,” Kara relented. “Maggie is going to be there as security, right?”

“Hope, can you please update Maggie on the situation and ask her and her team to be security? Let the captain know what’s happening as well. Fingers crossed that Octavius doesn’t get into any trouble.” The vigilante picked up a pancake and ate it. “I’ll be heading to L-Corp now to go over my notes and see if there’s a safe way to shut it down. Then I’ve got to write the speech which will make the city hate me even more than they did before.”

The reporter hugged Lena from behind and kissed her neck. “James won’t let me go, but I’ll ask Alex to go. She came home early last night. Between her and Maggie, nobody will harm you. I want you to know that this isn’t your fault, babe. I love you so much. So please, don’t let this get to you. It’s not your fault,” she emphasized the last sentence.

“I know. I know.” She turned around to kiss her girlfriend. “I love you too. I’m going to get ready now. Please help yourself, I’m not in the mood to eat anymore.”

“M’kay. I’ll fly you to work.” With one last kiss, the two split apart in order to get ready for the day ahead of them.

“Maggie. You’re a sight for sore eyes. I miss seeing that dimpled smile,” Lena beamed. The two shared a bro hug.

“C’mon Luthor. You saw me yesterday.”

“Briefly.” The CEO looked around the backstage. There were a couple of police officers milling around and Alex was soon to arrive. “Your people do know to not treat him as hostile, right?”

Maggie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Hope told us everything, even your hypothesis on what went wrong. I’m here with the team, but we have two new people. They arrived not that long ago and I’ve been meaning to introduce them to Spider-Woman. They’re going to join our team briefly.” Lena was about to respond but Maggie waved her hand. “There they are. Lena, this is Captain Yuri Watanabe of the NYPD and her partner, Detective Chloe Decker. Guys, this is Lena Luthor.”

“It’s a pleasure.” She shook both their hands and her spider-sense didn’t tingle. That was a good sign. “Chloe Decker. Where have I heard that name before?” It was familiar, something she saw recently... Oh, the tweet!

“She did star in a movie,” Maggie winked. “Hot Tub Time Machine.”

Lena decided to take the opportunity. “Right! Hot Tub Time Machine. You were amazing in it,” she complimented and hoped her smile looked genuine.

“T-Thank you, Ms. Luthor,” Chloe stuttered and blushed. Yuri had a smug look and Maggie was working very hard on trying not to laugh. What? Was it something she said?

“We’ve heard great things about you, Ms. Luthor. It’s a pleasure meeting you. Though, we should get going.” Yuri offered a smile and dragged the red-faced detective away with her.

Maggie cocked her head to the side. “You’ve never heard of the movie before, have you?”

“No.”

“I could tell. I recommend watching it,” she laughed. Before Lena could ask what was so funny, one of the workers told her it was time. She nodded and took a couple of breaths before walking onto the stage.

“Good afternoon,” Lena greeted the small crowd in front of her. “As everyone knows, L-Corp was under attack yesterday…” she zoned off as she read from her script. “As most of you know, there was an attack last night by what is now dubbed, Dr. Octopus. Dr. Otto Octavius and I were working on mechanical arms that would connect with a person’s mind so they could have control over them. The purpose of this project was for these arms to be used to help in construction work and possibly aid first responders. I stopped this project as it neared its completion because there were many bugs to work out. Why is this relevant, you are probably wondering. Well, when Psi attacked the building, Dr. Octavius used the arms to try and stop her. He was unsuccessful, however, and was gravely injured. Psi damaged the control of the arms and that man last night - Dr. Octopus - is actually my partner. I assure you that Spider-Woman and I are working together to bring him in safely.” Just as she predicted, everyone started to ask questions all at once.

“Robbie Robertson, The Pulse. Ms. Luthor, so you’re taking responsibility for creating Dr. Octopus?” The reporter she picked on asked. Seriously? And what a stupid name, honestly. Dr. Octopus.

“I helped create the arms with Dr. Octavius, this was an outcome neither of us expected. Psi’s powers messed with the chip. Without her interference, this wouldn’t have happened.” Most likely.

She pointed to another reporter. “Vick Vale, Picture News. Are you secretly following in your brother’s footsteps by creating weapons? Octavius has already murdered three people, who knows how many more will be next?” She kept her face expressionless but caught Maggie’s murderous face to the side. That was somewhat reassuring. 

“As I said before, we were planning on using these arms in construction. It would minimize casualties as well as complete projects faster. For first responders, it would have been used to move debris out of the way faster so more people could be helped. They were not planned on being used this way,” the CEO reiterated. She narrowed her eyes at the reporters and pointed at the blonde with the CatCo badge.

“Gwen Stacy, CatCo Worldwide Media,” she introduced. “L-Corp has been focused on renewable energy, taking a step back from technological advances. This project that you were working on with Dr. Octavius is not part of the renewable energy focus. Was this a one-time thing or are you going to continue to work in technological advances?”

“I don’t work in the labs as often as I would like, but when a project catches my attention, I put a lot of time into it. L-Corp’s main focus  _ is _ renewable energy and saving the planet, but my R&D team here in National City are allowed to work on their own ideas and projects. If a good one arises, we work on it together. Soon, I’ll be working on my own project for the medical field. Though, that’s for another interview.”

“Mary Jane Watson, Daily Bugle. After Dr. Octavius is apprehended, is L-Corp going to continue the project or is it going to be scrapped entirely?” Lena hid her smile from seeing Peter’s girlfriend.

“For now, the project will be disbanded. I may revisit it in a couple of years, but it is over for now.” She was going to take one more question when her spider-sense flared. She did her best to act calm and give nothing away since all the cameras were pointed at her, but something was coming.

A blur dropped in front of her. The crowd started to scream and disperse. She looked up to see her partner hovering over her. He used two of the tentacles to loom over her.

“You have to help me!” He begged. 

“FBI, freeze!” Alex shouted. Maggie stood next to her. They both had their guns pointed at Otto.

“Maggie, Alex, no! Get away!” Lena warned. Octavius’s eyes widened and he grabbed the two women by the waist and started to climb L-Corp.

“Run. Gotta run. They’re coming after me. Help,” she heard him say to himself. Lena looked around and noticed everyone running away. She ducked into the alleyway and placed the golden spider on her chest.

Spider-Woman ran up the side of L-Corp, chasing after Octavius and her friends. When she made it to the top, he noticed her and started to freak out.

“Stay away, away, stay away,” he chanted. “Spider. Big spider!”

“Out of all the people I’ve fought, of course, you’re the one with arachnophobia,” Spidey commented dryly.

“Hey, Web-Head! Don’t scare him while he’s dangling us over the side of the building, yeah?” Maggie’s cool facade broke to show the terror in her eyes.

“Hope, get Supergirl over here please.” The suit hummed. “Dr. Octavius, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” She raised her arms and slowly started to walk towards him. “I can help you, let me help you,” she tried.

“Spider. Get the spider away. Get away!” He threw Maggie towards the Spider and she dove after her friend. Spider-Woman caught the detective and started to swing. Alex followed but thankfully Kara swooped in and was able to catch her sister.

“Activate the comms, Hope. Add Alex into it.” Lena set Maggie down gently on the roof of an apartment building. “I’m going to go after him. See if I can calm him down some.” She swung away and saw the scientist scaling down L-Corp.

“He’s high risk, Spider-Woman. He can hurt you,” Alex warned.

“What’s new,” she scoffed. As she was swinging, she kicked Octavius off the side of her building, onto another on. If they were going to destroy a building, she knew just the one. “ Why did Doc Oct cross the street?” She grabbed one of the tentacles and threw him across the street. “To get to the other tide!

“Kick that Octopus’ ass!” Maggie cheered. “Can’t believe I was thrown off a fucking building. I didn’t sign up for this shit!” 

Lena smiled as she continued moving the fight. They finally landed on Morgan Edge’s building. Now the fight could begin.

“Looks like you’re well-armed!” Spider-Woman jeered at her opponent. The tentacles were coming at her fast, trying to pierce her. She was relying on her spider-sense alone to dodge the hits. Thankfully, the Mark II was mostly resilient against the claws when she wasn’t fast enough.

“Did she really just say that?” Alex sighed. Oh, right. She never really heard Spider-Woman quip before.

“Spider must be crushed. Kill or be killed. Kill. Spider no more. Kill Spider.” He almost seemed in a daze. A tentacle was able to wrap itself around her waist and throw her through the glass, into the building.

The workers froze and started to scatter. Spider-Woman shakily got up and started to shoot webs at Octavius to keep his focus on her. The arms slashed threw them as if they were paper. She ran towards him and slid under the arms. They all went under his legs and she used that second to stare at the harness and chip. When she had time to rewatch the footage, she’d have Hope look at it more carefully.

An arm grabbed her foot and pulled hard. Her head hit the ground and she was flung further into the office. She landed on top of a table and it broke under her weight. “I guess this is what they call a hostile workplace,” she gulped.

“Why? What’s happening?” Maggie asked. An arm grabbed her, picked her up, then slammed her on the floor. The floor broke and they fell down a story. She grabbed two of the tentacles and started to tie them together. The top left one wrapped around her neck. “Spidey? What’s happening?”

“I’m a little octopied at the moment!” She choked out. Spider-Woman bent down and jumped through the hole they made, onto the ceiling. The arm was forced to let go. In the moment of confusion, she shot down towards him and grabbed an arm. As the other three tried to grab her, she pulled back and hit him with it.

“Ah! Kill! Kill! Spider will kill me! Run! Must run!” He ran through the office, into the next room that still had some workers in it. “Don’t follow. Me or them. Them or me. Run. I must run.” Without warning, Otto grabbed someone and threw them out the window. They were at least 50 stories up. 

Lena sprinted out and caught the woman. She landed on the side of the building and saw another person fly out. Fuck. She caught the person and started to create a web down below. Another person. “Supergirl, help me catch these people!” Just as the words left her mouth, a blur came and caught the man.

“Give me them, you make the web.” Supergirl took the people out of her arms, allowing Spider-Woman to finish the web. As people fell, they landed safely in it. Sure, it was still 25 stories in the air, but at least the people were safe. Once she was done and checked the office, Otto was gone.

“He escaped. Let me handle this, though. He came to Lena Luthor for help. Maybe he’ll do it again. He’s definitely not in his right mind.” Spider-Woman started to take the people from her web and onto the ground for safety.

“What are you going to do if he becomes violent? Make him cringe from your puns?”

“C’mon Agent Danvers, you got to admit that was pretty funny. Making jokes makes everything less scary,” she admitted. “Okay, it looks like Supergirl got everyone else. Show off,” she teased. Her girlfriend approached her with scrunched eyebrows.

“He’s dangerous, babe. I would much rather you let me take care of this,” Supergirl said. The crowd seemed to inch closer, momentarily forgetting about their near-death experience.

“I can get through to him, I know I can,” Spidey tried. “He’s just scared. Do you trust me?”

“Always.” Supergirl pressed a kiss to the top of the black suit. “Hope will call me if you need help, right?”

“Of course. You’ll stay for the statement, right? I’ve got to go.” The hero nodded. “See you later.” 

Spider-Woman activated the glimmer as she approached L-Corp and swung onto her balcony. She entered the room just as the invisibility dropped. She deactivated the suit and placed the golden spider on the desk. Her office door opened and Eve stopped mid-step.

“Ms. Luthor!” Her eyes widened in shock. “I didn’t expect to see you here. I was just dropping off some paperwork.”

“Thank you, Eve.” Lena fought the urge to fix her dress and hair, which probably was a mess after being in the suit. “I came in when everything was happening downstairs.”

Eve’s eyes flicked to the golden spider then back at Lena. “Right. Well, here you are. Would you like me to order some lunch for you?”

“Has Sam ate yet?” Eve shook her head. “Then I’ll order with her, it’s no problem.”

“Don’t forget, at 2:30 you have a phone conference with Arkham Asylum,” the assistant reminded though she seemed to question if that was true or not.

“That will be all, thank you.” After the assistant left, Lena walked through the door to her best friend’s office. “Hey, loser.” She plopped down onto the couch.

Sam grinned. “Hey, you. I heard what happened downstairs, how’d the fight go? Did you get him?” She pushed away from her desk and sat next to Lena on the couch.

The vigilante groaned. “No, he got away. Almost had him, though. What are you having for lunch? I’m  _ hungry _ . Dodging those metal arms is a big deal, you know.”

“I can order pizza if you want? I’m kind of craving breadsticks.” Lena nodded in agreement. Sam rolled her eyes affectionately and pulled out her phone to order. “How many pizzas? 2? 3? 3, okay. By the way, I heard Edge Global was the epicenter of the attack.”

The spider shrugged. “The fight moved.”

“It’s at least a couple of miles from here,” the CFO accused.

“Okay, you got me,” Lena laughed. “I had Octavius chase me to the building. Thought it’d be funny to see it get trashed a bit. Thankfully, no one was hurt. If someone had died because of me…”

“Are you hurt?” Sam tilted her head and ran her eyes over her friend’s body but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“Besides some bruising and soreness? No. I’m going to finish adding my new web combination to the Iron Spider so the next time I face him, it’ll be eight on eight.”

“Just be careful, okay Lena? What’s going to happen to him once he’s captured?”

That was a good question. “I don’t know, truthfully. I know he didn’t mean to kill those people, but manslaughter is still manslaughter. I don’t even know if his brain will function correctly. I hope they don’t imprison him, he needs help.”

“If they do put him in jail, he’s not going to survive. Like you said, who knows how his brain will function? With all that fear in him…”

The CEO hummed. “Fear..” Fear. Fear! Good thing she was making a call to Arkham anyways… “Anyways. Why are you still thirsting on my Instagram? Haven’t you and Harry gone on a date yet?”

“On one, yeah. But nothing happened. We have a second date tomorrow night actually.”

“Not even a kiss?” Lena raised her eyebrows in shock.

“No. Is that a bad thing? You seem surprised?”

“It’s a good thing! No kiss on the first date and you’re having a second one? It’s going great, I promise. This means Harry is taking it seriously.”

The CEO and CFO continued to gossip about their lives, even after the food had been finished. Ruby had made it on the club soccer team and they were going to have their first match in two weeks. Lena promised that she and Kara were going to be there. Once the conversation finally lulled, Lena’s office phone rang. She excused herself to her office and answered the phone.

“Lena Luthor?” A bored voice asked.

“This is her.”

“Once you are finished speaking with the prisoner, would you like to speak to Dr. Jeremiah Arkham?”

“I would actually, yes.”

“Very well. You may speak to Poison Ivy as long as you can bear it. Once you are finished, hang up and call back.” The line went quiet and she heard the phone shuffle.

“Good afternoon, Dr. Isley,” Lena greeted warmly.

“Lena Luthor. This is a surprise,” the woman teased. Her voice was smooth, almost like water in a river.

“I’ll be honest and say I don’t know much about Gotham. I’ve been thinking of expanding a branch there, but I’d been advised to be careful about where I build. Your name kept coming up when I asked why.”

“Is there are a question there, Ms. Luthor?”

Lena chuckled softly. “I’ve heard rumors that you are able to control plants. That you are one with nature. Is that true?”

She heard the woman scoff. “Out of all the things you’ve heard about me, that’s what you’re asking about?” She paused. “Yes. I am very connected with the plants around me. I feel their pain, their grief. I only wish to carry out Gaea’s wishes on making the world a better place. A place where her children can thrive and not be destroyed.”

“I want you to work for L-Corp.” It was a very logical decision and of all the research she had done on the metahuman, that was what kept coming up over and over again. She only did what she did to protect her plants. “I have a lab at the edge of town and a beautiful botanical garden with many different species. In part of my effort to save the planet, I want to try and help rebuild some of the ecosystems that have been destroyed by humans. It would mean a lot to have your help, Dr. Isley. This needs a woman’s touch, and who better than someone who has a special connection to them?”

The metahuman stayed quiet for a long time. Lena would have thought she left were it not for her breathing. “I have murdered people, Ms. Luthor. Brutally, in some cases. You do know this, yes?”

“I do know this,” the CEO agreed.

“And you still wish to work with me?”

“I do.”

“I have some conditions, then.”

“Okay. I have a pen and paper, go ahead.” She already expected the other woman to have conditions and questions. Hopefully, they’d be reasonable ones.

“I will not work with men. Period.” That was perfectly acceptable, especially with her history. “No plants will be removed without my knowledge or without my permission. I am included in whatever deal we’ll have, full knowledge of what is happening at all times. And my partner gets to come with me.”

The businesswoman grinned. “Those seem like reasonable demands. I accept. I have a few conditions of my own if you don’t mind.” She paused to see if Isley would refute. When she didn’t, she continued, “You will not murder anybody. For the most part, you will be alone with your partner, but I will have women in and out, dropping things off. No nefarious scheming. I am a businesswoman and making deals is something I’m good at. If you want or need anything, let me know. The pay will be more than enough, so no need to cause any trouble. That goes for you and your partner.”

“Do you know who my partner is?” 

“Dr. Quinzel, of course. Though, does she just prefer Quinn these days?”

“Harley will be fine for her,” Lena heard the smile in the other woman’s voice. This was going very well.

“I do have to warn you though, National City has changed a bit. There are metahumans and a world-ending crisis at least once a year. The NCPD does have metahuman dampening cuffs, though I will speak to them if you agree to my offer. I don’t expect you to become a hero or anything of the sort, just a warning. There’s hardly ever a quiet day here.”

Dr. Isley laughed good naturally. “I don’t doubt that. Even if I do agree to this partnership with you, how are you going to get me out of here?”

“Oh, you needn’t worry yourself about that. So, we have a deal, Dr. Isley?”

“I suppose we do, Ms. Luthor.”

They talked a bit more about what the partnership would entail and agreed they would have everything fleshed out when Pam was out of Arkham. She hung up the phone and redialed right away.

“Ms. Luthor. Your conversation with Poison Ivy was lengthy. Anything of importance?” Dr. Arkham asked.

“I may be able to get both Dr. Isley and Dr. Quinzel out of your hair if you allow me. I have a business deal that I want with the both of them,” Lena answered.

Arkham barked out a laugh. “Those nutjobs? Sure, sure. Get your lawyers down here and I’ll let those crazy bitches off with you. I feel sorry for National City already!” Lena clenched her jaw and counted to ten in her head.

“Of course. I’ll visit Arkham Asylum next Friday at 6:00 pm.” He grunted in approval. “I actually have a question about another pris-” she cleared her throat- “patient of yours. Dr. Jonathan Crane.”

“Scarecrow?” Arkham gruffed. Why did he have to disrespect them so much? “What about him? He’s about the craziest one here, besides the Joker, of course. I wouldn’t release him in your care, even if I want to get rid of him.”

“I would like to visit him when I come to the asylum. Would that be a problem?”

“Problem for you, maybe. Knock yourself out. Next Friday at 6, I’ll let the guards know. Will that be all Ms. Luthor?”

“Yes. Thank you, Dr. Arkham. I will see you next week.” She hung up the phone and sighed, rubbing her temples as she did so. Maybe what she heard about Arkham Asylum was right. She hoped it wasn’t.

“Lena. I-I can’t. Help. I’m going crazy.” Lena turned in her chair and saw Otto on her balcony. After the fight yesterday, he seemed to just disappear. 

“Octavius! I can help. I just need to get close to you and put this flash drive in the chip and then take out. Then I can help.” She went outside and the sky seemed to darken. The rainclouds grew heavier.

“Take the chip? You want to take it? It protects me. Protect. It protects me!” He hugged himself and backed away from her.

Lena raised her hands as a sign of good faith. “That’s the only way I can protect you, Otto. It’s hurting you, changing you. It’s not protecting you.”

“Hurting. Hurt. Hurting. I’m hurting,” he cried.

“Yes you are, Otto,” Lena replied sadly.   
  


“Take it. Take it off. Scared. I’m scared.”

“It’s okay. Everything will be okay.” She continued to approach him slowly. Once she was about to put the flash drive in, an arm grabbed her.

“Stop! Make it stop!” Lena’s fingers gripped the claw that was around her throat and tried to pry it off. It lifted her in the air and she kicked at it as hard as she could. The arm tossed her over the balcony. Quickly, she double-tapped her rings and the Iron Spider came to life. She shot a web and pulled herself. She managed to slow her fall, but she crashed into a nearby building and a crater was formed in the wall. Oops.

Spider-Woman stood up and flexed her fingers. She looked through the darkness and rain to see Octavius on the roof of L-Corp fighting himself, it looked like. She had to get up there.

Despite her head buzzing uncomfortably and her body shaking from the impact, the Spider started up the building. When she made it to the top, an arm grabbed her and threw her on the center of the roof.

“Hope, patch Maggie and Kara through.” In case she needed backup. “Guys, I’ve got Octavius on the roof of L-Corp. He seems to be fighting himself. This will be over tonight.”

“I’ll send a helo your way,” Maggie informed.

“I’m on standby. Be safe, Lena.”

“Okay baby girl, do your thing.” The four limbs came out of Spider-Woman’s back.

“Baby girl? Who are you talking to?” Kara asked.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Spider. She’s talking to me,” Hope chirped.

“Hope!” Lena jumped up to avoid a swipe of the arm and twisted in midair to dodge another. “Look!  Our arms are almost itenticle!” Hope stopped one of Otto’s arms. Awesome!

“I don’t want to hurt you,” the scientist cried. “I can’t stop it!”

After wrestling an arm, the Spider jumped back a few feet. She heard a helicopter coming. Otto was lifted off the ground by his arms and Lena shot web after web at them. For good measure, she got a taser web. When he was momentarily stunned, she swooped towards him and knocked him off towards the railing. He ripped the webbing off and dove for her. The arms wrestled each other while Lena and Otto exchanged fists. The metal tentacles overwhelmed the spider arms and she was being squeezed. Just like an octopus would when it captured its prey.

Time to see if this worked. “Web blossom!” A whole bunch of webbing shot from all over the suit and it coated the doctor. She pushed back and they both tumbled over the side of the building.

Lena was standing on the side of L-Corp and she shot a web to catch Octavius. He broke out of it and started to crawl towards her. She dropped onto his body and grabbed the bottom arm. Using all her strength, she pulled. It broke off and she threw it over her shoulder, back onto the roof. He was enraged. He grabbed her and threw her towards the roof. She landed on the glass carefully and he roared.

“What? Did you pull a mussel?” She landed on his body once more and crawled onto his back. Hope wrestled with the tentacles and finally, Lena was able to insert the drive and rip the chip out of the harness. He blacked out and started to fall. “Hold on, Otto. I’ve got you.” She shot a couple of webs and pulled him to her. “It’s over.”

When she got back onto the roof, one of the helicopters landed. Captain Saenz walked out with Officer Chase. “Nice going, kid. I’ll take it from here.” He put handcuffs on the doctor.

“He needs medical help first. Take him to the hospital but don’t let anyone know he’s there. It wasn’t his fault for what he did. Honest. I’ll have Lena testify and everything.”

“I believe you, kid,” the captain promised. “I’ll take him to the hospital as you asked, but it’s not up to me about his sentencing. I’ll keep Ms. Luthor updated. You did good. Get some rest.”

The rain continued to pour and Lena stood there numbly. It was over.

“Hey, ready to go home?” Supergirl asked as she landed in front of the vigilante.

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.” Lena allowed Supergirl to wrap her arms around her and fly into the night sky. 

They landed in Kara’s apartment and Supergirl sped to change into something warm and dry. Lena deactivated the suit and frowned when her clothes were wet. That would be something she’d need to fix. She started to strip out of the wet clothes in the bathroom when a thought occurred to her.

“Darling?” She called out. In a gust of wind, Kara stood before her.

“Need anything, sweetheart? Clothes? A towe-” she stopped when she noticed Lena was naked.

“You know how we never have time? We have time now. Octavius is dealt with and I’m sure the police officers can spare us a night. What do you think?” She whispered as she stalked towards her girlfriend. Kara nodded eagerly as she took off her clothes.

“Y-Yeah. Good idea. Yes. Okay. Yep.” Her foot got stuck in the sweat pants and she fell. Lena laughed. God, she was in love with a dork. 

“No need to rush. We’ve got all night.”

And all night they spent in the passion of love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap on that! No more people horny on main. Pam and Harley aren't going to have a big role in this fic (at least not this phase) but they'll be chilling in National City. Bet you know why I want Lena to talk to Dr. Crane. Next chapter will most likely be a filler. It's been like 4 months and Lena has already brought down a bunch of villains. She needs a break lmao.
> 
> So in the fic, the month is June. The fic started around March. Though, I have no idea what the timeline is haha. I'll try and keep track of that. I've just been going at it, not really paying attention to it. Dunno if that matters a ton to people or not. It feels weird updating in the middle of the day lmao.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/dr_halfblood) It gives you a heads up when I'm abt to update. Ask me anything on [Tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked) Srsly. Don't be shy ;)
> 
> So you know how I said someone close to me passed away not too long ago? We haven't been able to have a service for her because Cali is on lockdown and it just kinda sucks. Like I get it, but :(
> 
> STAY SAFE EVERYONE. Continue to isolate. If anyone wants to play ps4, let me know! I'm a whore for Minecraft. Have a good day everyone.


	17. Bruce lives in Batman's attic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some angst and Lena oriented chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was 20 minutes late uploading this on time dang it. It takes me HOURS to write a chapter, so sorry. I did not proofread this chapter at all y'all haha good luck

Lena woke up Monday morning alone in her bed. Kara had gone home yesterday to have sister time with Alex since she had come home a day early from DC. The billionaire hopped off the ceiling and started to get ready. Since she’d be at CatCo today and was being blamed by some people for the Octavius accident, she decided to wear her battle armor. A black power suit with a deep shade of red lipstick, her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She could handle people talking shit about her, but she would like the employees in her company to have some professionalism and not say anything in her presence.

“Good morning, Boss,” Hope greeted as Lena walked into the kitchen. “You have 20 minutes to eat breakfast before needing to leave the house to make it to CatCo Worldwide Media by 7:00 am.”

“Morning, Hope.” She was eternally grateful for her AI. Hope had started the coffee machine for her. “What will you be doing today?”

The lights brightened. “I will be talking with Gideon from the Waverider today. Captain Lance has a girlfriend now. We have much to discuss.”

Lena chuckled as she put the bread in the toaster. “So, gossiping?”

“Yes. Us AI’s don’t have much to do. And I don’t like Alexa. She’s very snooty.” Lena snorted. She was glad her baby had a sense of humor.

“Perhaps after I die, I’ll have someone install you into the Waverider with Gideon.” It started as a joke, but soon she started to spiral. “Kara is going to outlive me, isn’t she?” From what little she knew about Kryptonian physiology, she knew they aged slower than the average humans. Eventually, Lena is going to be old and wrinkly while Kara looked like she did now. The toast popping up snapped her out of her thoughts.

She drank her coffee slowly and started to spread jam onto the toast. She was going to shove those thoughts about growing old into teeny tiny boxes and shove them into the back of her head. They’d been dating only three weeks, it was too early to panic about that sort of thing.

When she arrived at CatCo, it was still fairly empty. Most people’s workday didn’t actually start until 9, but Lena was an early riser and she had tons of paperwork to look through. She was thankful it had nothing to do with stuff she usually had to deal with at L-Corp - numbers from each department from each branch, R&D proposals, and graphs that would make her head spin from staring for too long. When she made it to the top floor, no one was there, as expected. She did notice a table across from Betty Brant’s and assumed that was hers that she requested. She picked the table up and walked over to the corner of the bullpen that was obscured by the private elevator. It was a tiny nook on the floor and she felt right at place there. If people needed her, they’d be able to find her, but for the most part, she was hidden.

She took out the planner Kara had given her and looked through her schedule for today while the computer booted up. She had a meeting with James Olsen at 9:15, Snapper Carr at 10, the head of advertising at 11, and marketing at 1:30. It would also help to learn the names of people on this floor at least. The only one she could remember was Betty and that was only because she was kind of her assistant while Lena was here. Sighing at the number of emails she already had, she dove right in.

An hour later, Lena’s ears perked up at the sound of the elevator coming up. It was still early for anyone to come in, so she was curious as to who it was. The doors to the private elevator opened and Betty Brant walked out, bobbing her head to the music in her earbuds. She was singing along softly and started to dance as she unpacked her bag. Her eyes were closed as she got into the song and her dancing picked up. Lena watched, amused, as the woman threw her arms around in the air and rocked her body to the melody in her ears. She even got on the desk and used a stapler as a microphone. Once the song was over, she turned to grab something out of the bag that she placed on the chair. That’s when she spotted the CEO.

“Ms. Luthor!” Her voice was high and her face red. She scrambled off the table and yanked her earbuds out by the cord. “I-Uh- Good morning?”

“Good morning, Betty. That was quite the performance,” she poked fun of.

The assistant flushed further and rubbed the back of her neck. “No one is usually here this early and I didn’t see you,” she tried to explain. “D-Do you want a coffee or anything?”

Lena waved her hand dismissively. “No thank you. I’ll be here every Monday and Wednesday from now on. Just letting you know,” she winked before resuming her email to a doctor in Seattle. Octavius was still in the hospital and it seemed his brain had changed, though he wasn’t brain dead, thankfully. Although, being borderline schizophrenic perhaps wasn’t that much better of a deal.

Half an hour later, at 8:30, Lena heard a familiar heartbeat coming towards her. She tried hard to fight off the giddy smile that wanted to make its way on her face, she really did, but seeing Kara beam at her like that made her melt (she didn’t think there would be a day that smile failed to make her feel better).

“Good morning, Lena.” Kara put a paper bag on her desk. “The sticky buns are for me, obviously, but I got you a pastry.”

“Thank you, darling.” Since it was still only Betty and one other reporter she didn’t know the name of, Lena walked around her table to stand across from her girlfriend. She leaned in for a chaste kiss so she didn’t ruin her makeup.

“You look…” Kara looked the CEO up and down and subconsciously bit her lip, “good. Really good. But also like you’re about to kick some major ass.”

Lena smiled. She was planning on expanding her suit collection anyway. Honestly. “I just needed a confidence booster today, something to make me feel a bit tougher. I know it wasn’t my fault but it just bothers me.” 

“I know.” The Kryptonian pulled her girlfriend into a hug and whispered in her ear, “Sometimes when I have days I need a confidence booster, I wear the Supergirl suit under my clothes. I stopped wearing it under my clothes when I kept ripping my shirts, but when I want to feel tougher, you know I have it on.”

“Maybe I should wear my suit under my clothes and rip my shirt of dramatically like you do,” she teased as they separated.

“You should. Though speaking of, have you seen the newest issue?” After Lena shook her head, Kara started rummaging around her bookbag. “Ah! Here it is. James finished it the day after you got Octavius. Everyone worked real hard on it.” Lena stared at the magazine in her hand.

“I can’t wait to read it,” Lena said earnestly. “Thank you, love. Now go eat your sticky buns somewhere else, the cinnamon is starting to bother my senses.”

The alien playfully stuck her tongue out. “I’ve got any emergencies covered for today. And we’re leaving before 7, even if I have to carry you out of the office,” she threatened.

“Only if you stay over tonight?” More people started to enter. Kara nodded and pulled out a pastry, placing it on a napkin on the table. “You should probably go now. I promise I’ll do my best to wrap up early.” They shared another chaste kiss. The alien skipped over to Betty’s desk and pulled out a muffin for her and they chatted for a bit before James came. The blonde then went to her desk and started to chow down on her own breakfast.

Lena flipped through the magazine and smiled at the different pictures people somehow managed to take of her. All four of her suits were present. Dang, she really did make suits fast. To be fair, she had a lot of the suit materials already and she had gotten the hang of making the suits. Speaking of suits, she really ought to finish Kara’s before the construction of her lab is done. It should be done by the time she gets back from Gotham.

Lena looked to her watch and noticed James was in his office. Might as well get this over with.

“Good morning, Ms. Luthor. Would you like to take a seat?” James pointed to the chair across from his desk.

“No thanks.” She crossed her arms and stood straighter, keeping a calm mask on.

“Very well.” He shuffled some papers on the desk and leaned back in his chair as if he owned the place. “I’m surprised you’re here, after everything the media is saying about you.”

“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “If I didn’t go into work every time there was an article degrading me or blaming me for something, L-Corp would be run into the ground. Just so you know, I’ll be here every Monday, Wednesday, and most Fridays. I want everything run by me first. Articles that are going into publication, any money we spend, any fundraisers we’re holding, everything.”

James frowned. “Ms. Luthor, that’s not necessary. I’ve got everything covered. I could forward you the articles, but I’ve got it. I edit them before sending them off. Surely, you don’t want to do that?”

She took a deep breath. “Mr. Olsen, I can assure you that I am very capable of editing articles myself. You can still do that, but I want to see it myself before it goes to print. I have the final word. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Ms. Luthor.” His smile was strained. “Anything else?”

“I would just like to remind you that I bought CatCo as a favor. If it wasn’t for me, Morgan Edge would be the one calling the shots, burning this place down. I am the CEO of L-Corp, I know how to run a business. Cat and Kara have also given me a rundown of what it means to be in charge here, so don’t think I won’t know if you’re holding back. You still get to choose what articles people are writing and whatnot. I’m only asking to be a final check.”

“Of course.” He nodded. “I’m not trying to undermine you at all. I only want to make the transition easier for both of us. I know you have a CFO at L-Corp helping you with the load of work, but your amount is still quite heavy. I didn’t want to push too many things at you all at once,” he tried to explain earnestly.

“Thank you for the sentiment,” she said honestly. “I do have it handled from now on, though.” They went over key details and the direction the next issue was going to be on. Just before she left the office, she turned to James and said, “I’m not my brother, you know. I’m sorry for all he’s done to you, but I am nothing like him.”

“I’m starting to see that.” He gave a hesitant smile before she walked out. At least now they could have a somewhat tension free work relationship. Now she had to go meet Snapper Carr.

“Ms. Luthor,” he grunted.

“Good morning, Mr. Carr.” She sat across from him. She was actually unsure why he wanted to meet with her.

“I don’t want you doing interviews with Ponytail anymore.” Lena nodded. That was the first thing they agreed on when they got together. And when Lena took over the company, she told herself she wouldn’t interview with anyone else at CatCo so it didn’t seem like favoritism. “All interviews you do want to give will be through me if I find it worth my time. Everyone knows that I can be unbiased. Just because you’re technically the new boss doesn’t mean I will report that way.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t expect any less from you, Mr. Carr.” Which was true. She knew about his honest and brutal way of reporting through her girlfriend.

“I’m assuming I don’t have to tell you that I will allow no favoritism?” She shook her head. “Good. You mentioned a new device for the medical field. Will that be something coming soon?”

“The prototype will not be done until next month. L-Corp should be finished with the mass water filter by the end of this month though. I will come to you when it’s finished.” He nodded once at her and resumed to write. That was her dismissal. She got up and hesitated in the doorway of his office. “What do you know of Wilson Fisk?” He stopped his writing and looked at her.

“I know he’s untouchable. Everyone who has tried to go against him mysteriously died or was scared to death. Not even Lois Lane was able to expose his criminal empire.” He stopped writing and leaned forward. “Why?”

“I’m no reporter, but I would love to expose him more than anything in the world. He’s going to cause trouble for me, I mean-” her eyes widened a fractioned- “Spider-Woman. No doubt he’s going to start a gang war while he’s here. The Maggia at least accepts aliens, but Fisk is almost as xenophobic as my brother. The alien population is greater here than in Metropolis, and I fear for their lives. He’s a true monster that hides behind his attorneys and charities. You’re the best reporter here, Cat told me so herself. So I was wondering if you’d be willing to work with me against him?”

Snapper stared at her for a long moment with his eyes narrowed. “I’ll put my best reporter on it. Good thing you and Kara already work so well together.” Lena stared at him openly. First, he rejected her offer and second he complimented Kara? Did she accidentally travel to another Earth? He huffed and added, “Look, this is the story of a lifetime. If you guys pull this off, it will go down in history since almost everyone sees him as a saint. It’s a good story, but dangerous. And I know you both have superheroes watching your backs so I’m not too concerned over your safety. Secondly, I’ve got my own private story going. There’s something fishy about Norman Osborn and I’m going to figure out what he’s up to.”

Something fishy about Norman? “What’s happening with Mr. Osborn?

“I have a hunch about it, nothing you’d understand,” he gruffed. “I’ve got some real work to be getting to. Is that all Ms. Luthor?”

“Yes, I suppose so. If you ever need an interview or something, I will be more than happy to help,” she offered as she opened the door. He grunted in response and that was that. Norman wasn’t up to something, right? Sure, he was an asshole, but he wasn’t nefarious. That’s what she used to think about Lex… She shook her head. She still had a long day ahead of her.

“Ready to go home?” Kara asked as she approached Lena’s desk. The floor was mostly empty except for a few people lingering behind to work on their articles.

“Mhm.” Lena finished her email with a pleased smile. She would have to book a flight to Seattle soon. “I brought my car. Do you mind or do you just want to meet me at home?” Ever since the Psi attack almost two weeks ago, Kara opted for the stairs instead of the elevator and avoided tight spaces. She had been making progress though, she took the elevator twice today.

“Only if you roll the windows down.”

“Fair enough.” Lena cleaned up her work area and double-checked she had everything since she’d be at L-Corp the next day.

Together, hand in hand, they walked down the stairs and talked about their workday. Kara cheered when Lena told her about the conversation she had with Snapper. 

“I can’t believe he said I was his best reporter,” she gushed. “I mean, I know I’m good but golly. I’m definitely getting him a pastry tomorrow.”

The car ride was enjoyable. Kara stuck her head out of the window and sang along to the radio with her beautiful voice. At a stoplight, she even got out to pet a dog in the car next to them. Lena shook her head affectionately and smiled at her girlfriend. God, how did she get so lucky? When she pulled into her driveway, she spotted Maggie and Alex at her door with a bucket of soap and water at their feet. They had brushes in their hands and were obviously arguing.

“Uh hey, guys?” Lean asked as she approached her door. The couple’s eyes snapped to her and they pressed their bodies against the door.

“Oh, hey Luthor. Kara,” Maggie tried for a smile. “You’re home early.”

“What are you guys doing here?” Kara frowned at her sister. Maggie dropping by unexpectedly wasn’t new, but with Alex and their bucket?

“We, uh,” Alex shifted on her feet uncomfortably. “We were cleaning your house?”

Lena snorted and stepped closer. The couple didn’t move. “Thank you, but it’s not necessary.” She once again tried for the door but they stayed rooted to the spot. “C’mon guys, stop playing. It’s been a long day and I want to eat dinner and cuddle with my Kryptonian heater,” she joked.

“Babe, let’s just go through the back door. Leave them to their weirdness.” Kara tugged on her hand and put her glasses back on.

“You guys are being ridiculous.” With an eye roll, she pushed Alex and Maggie to the side. 

‘Bitch’, ‘Whore’, and some other words that were faded were graffitied in neon green on her house in spray paint. 

“We got most of it off,” Maggie confessed. “The nastier ones at least.”

Lena clenched her fists and took a deep breath. She was surprised this hadn’t happened before, honestly. “How long have you guys been here?”

“About an hour,” Alex confessed. “Maggie got a call saying that someone was graffitiing your house. By the time we got here, they were gone. Figured the least we could do was try and clean it up,” she shrugged. “I’m sorry we didn’t get everything.”

“It’s okay. Thank you both, truly. I’ll send the footage over to the captain.” Kara squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I’ll have someone come by tomorrow to clean it. Go ahead and enjoy your night.”

“Alright,” Maggie relented, sensing Lena was holding it together by a thread. “C’mon babe, let’s go take a shower. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? Spider you still gotta meet Yuri and Chloe.”

“Yeah. Thanks again.” When they got into the house, the lights were dimmed. “Hope, you’ll send the footage?”

“Already did, Boss. I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything.” It was shocking how remorseful the AI sounded.

“It’s okay baby, you couldn’t have done anything. It’s my fault, anyhow.” She leaned against the wall and Kara surged forward.

“This isn’t your fault, Lena. What happened to Octavius was not your fault. You didn’t do that to him,” Kara tried,

“Everything is my fault!” She sobbed. “Octavius, Jack, Metallo, my brother, my mom-” she cut herself off. “It’s all my fault.” She was full-on crying now.

The alien picked up her girlfriend and carried her to the bed. “None of it was your fault,” she spoke in a soothing voice and rubbed circles on the metahuman’s back. “No one knew that was going to happen to Octavius. You couldn’t have saved Jack. One way or another Lillian was going to make a Metallo, it was inevitable. You didn’t know what your brother was doing.” She didn’t mention the last part and she realized she knew nothing about Lena’s birth mom.

“I knew Lex was planning something. Maybe if I’d dug deeper or - or stayed at LuthorCorp instead of running. I should’ve stayed. I could’ve talked him out of it. Maybe-” Lena started to hyperventilate and Kara shushed her.

“Shh, baby, it’s okay. It’s not your fault, nothing you could’ve done could have stopped Lex. That’s not your fault, you didn’t know he was trying to kill Clark. That’s all on Lex. None of it on you. I promise. It’s not your fault.” She didn’t realize Lena carried the guilt of her brother’s actions so heavily. 

After Lena calmed down some, she whispered, “I killed my mom. That is my fault. I could have saved her. I could have saved her,” she repeated. Kara stayed quiet, knowing Lena still had more to say. “We were at a lake. I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I know she was drowning. My mom was drowning in the Lake and I just… watched. I couldn’t move, couldn’t call for help. I just watched my mom die.”

“Lena, honey, that wasn’t your fault either.” She wracked her brain to think about when the Luthors had adopted her. “You were only four when it happened. You saw your mother struggling and the panic made you freeze up. You couldn’t have gone after her either. I’m sorry about what happened to your mom. Thank you for telling me.” She pressed a gentle kiss to Lena’s forehead and the younger woman started to cry again. Kara’s heart ached for her. She could feel the pain, feel the deaths she shouldered.

“I hate being Lena Luthor. She can never do anything right. The city hates her. Probably half the country even. But Spider-Woman? Everyone  _ loves _ her. She’s perfect. She helps people and makes kids smile and makes people laugh and  _ happy _ . They absolutely  _ adore _ her. It’s still me, under the mask. Still Lena Luthor. If they knew that, what would they do? Would their love for Spider-Woman outweigh their hate for Lena Luthor? I don’t know what I’d do if the people found out. It’s nice not being hated for once. She’s all I got.” After a second she added, “besides you, of course.”

Kara shifted so she could look down at Lena. Her eyes were red and puffy, tear stains evident on her cheek. Her nose was running and she kept sniffling, but she looked just as beautiful as she normally did.

“I fell in love with Lena Luthor, not Spider-Woman.” She placed a kiss on her hand. “I love how you fight for what you believe in, no matter what.” She kissed her wrist. “I love how you stand up for yourself, the fierceness in your face that rivals Cat’s.” A kiss on her arm. “I love how you mumble in your sleep when you’re stressed out.” Another kiss. “I love how you are loyal to the ones you love. I love it when your Irish accent slips through when you’re rambling or sleepy. I love it when you first wake up and your voice is deeper than normal.” For each compliment, she placed a kiss on Lena’s body. “And most importantly, I love you. I’m sorry that other people are ignorant and don’t want to see the real you. They’re missing out, honestly.” She kissed away the fresh tears. “Sam, Ruby, Harry, and Jess all loved you before you became Spider-Woman. Maggie, Alex, and Winn are coming round to Lena Luthor, too. You’re amazing. You’re single-handedly going to change the world! The people will see how amazing you are, I swear it. Even if I have to go person to person, I will.

You have a big heart. That also means you feel a lot of pain, that’s what Alex told me at least. Remember what you did for Adrian and Doris? You also got Alex and J’onn to go to D.C. to talk to the President of the United States to change how a secret government agency treats aliens. And I know you’re going to help Poison Ivy and Harley become better people  _ and _ help save the planet while doing so.  _ That’s _ how amazing of a person you are. Not to mention that you ask for nothing in return. It comes straight from your heart.”

“No wonder you became a reporter. You’re good with your words,” Lean grumbled through tears. Kara chuckled and cradled Lena against her body. “I’m in love with you, too,” she said into the blonde’s neck. Although they’d only been together for a short while, it felt inevitable that they’d end up together. Like in the Greek myths when the heroes would try to avoid a prophecy but it ended up happening anyway. That’s how inevitable their love was. It was destined by the three old ladies at the loom.

“Do you want to finish crying it out? Afterward, I can get those scones from Dublin. Oh! There’s this amazing little bakery in Paris that Diana took me to once, and the Dupain-Cheng’s macaroons are to die for! While I’m there, I can get flamiche. I promise, it tastes amazing. It’s kind of like a quiche but also kind of like a calzone? Oh, calzones sound good too. Maybe I’ll get some of that too. I mean, a big meal does taste good after crying, right?”

Lena laughed and untucked herself from Kara’s neck so she could look at her girlfriend. “That sounds amazing. Get all the food you wish, love. I’m sure we’ll be able to finish it.” She smiled and tucked a stray hair behind the blonde’s ear. “Can we cuddle for a bit more though?” Kara nodded eagerly and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.

After their hefty meal (where, surprisingly, there were leftovers), they returned to the room where Kara spent a good portion of the night worshipping Lena and showing the younger woman how much she was loved.

Lena picked up on two bickering voices in the elevator headed up. Intrigued, she stepped out of her office and waited outside of the door.

“Ms. Luthor?” Eve questioned. “Do you need something?” Lena shook her head and waited. Eve simply shrugged and went back to work.

“I said I was sorry, Mom! I didn’t mean it, honest!” Ruby pleaded.

“I’m not upset that you said it, I’m just upset you said it in front of him!”

“But he laughed! It- Oh, hey Lena.” Ruby stopped walking and waved at the CEO. Sam, whose face was buried in her tablet, looked up.

“Sorry about bringing this rascal in today. My sitter canceled last night and I didn’t see the message until this morning.”

“Before or after Harry left?” Ruby raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms - a look Lena was 100% responsible for. 

“Ruby!” Sam glanced at Eve who pretended like she wasn’t listening. “Come on, into my office.” Lena smiled and followed the Arias duo.

“He finally sealed the deal? Congratulations!”

“Auntie, ew stop!”

Sam rolled her eyes and sat at her desk. “Yeah, he did. So worth the wait. I’ll give you details later, I promise. I have a packed day today and I have to keep my eye on this one.” 

“I can take care of Ruby for the day,” Lena offered. “I only have a phone meeting today and some paperwork I have to catch up on. Plus, I wouldn’t mind spending time with my favorite niece.”

“I’m your only niece,” Ruby pointed out but she had a smile on her face regardless.

“Thanks, Lena. And I have to say, I am so in awe of you. L-Corp is a monster to run.”

The CEO grinned. “Don’t I know it. Well, we’ll get out of your hair. Have a productive day, Sammy.” Hanging out with Ruby was definitely something she needed after the emotionally exhausting night she had last night. “When I finish my phone call, want me to help me fix my spider suit?”

Ruby looked up from her phone. “Heck yeah!” Lena had kept her third suit in tatters from her fight with the Vulture so she could teach the girl how to make it. It was an excuse to get Ruby even more interested in science. With the right guidance, she could become a brilliant STEM major. Lena was ready to offer the young girl an internship in the company right away. Though, she’d have to wait at least another 4 years until high school. Her birthday was coming up in August… 

“And you can help me build brand new web-shooters.” The smile on Ruby’s face rivaled Kara’s.

Spider-Woman flipped onto the hood of the patrol car, startling the two police officers inside. She threw a quick  _ sorry _ over her shoulder as she jogged into the precinct. She was ten minutes later than she promised, but Ruby accidentally put a stitch in wrong and when Lena put the suit on, the wires sparked and shocked her. Quickly, they had to fix it.

“Sorry I’m late,” she skidded into Maggie’s office. “Ruby was helping me sow the suit- and hello.” Yuri and Chloe were sitting in the two seats across from Maggie. “Sorry I’m late,” she repeated. She reached out for the captain’s hand first. “I’m Spider-Woman, nice to meet you.”

“Captain Yuri Watanabe, NYPD. This is my partner, Detective Chloe Decker.” She shook her hand.

Lena still hadn’t seen the movie, but the compliment landed last time so perhaps it’d work again. “It’s nice to meet you both. Nice work in that movie, by the way,” she threw in a wink for good measure. Maggie choked on air and the captain face-palmed.

“Oh my God, Web-Head. I can’t wait to see your reaction when you actually watch it,” she whispered. The Spider cocked her head in question but didn’t say anything.

“I know you’ve been working on trying to take Fisk down for years, and I have a reporter who would be more than happy to help us work on the case as long as she gets to use what we’ve collected to write an article on it.” Feeling on edge, Lena opted to jump on the ceiling and sit criss cross applesauce up there. “I promise she’s really good at her job and would be a great asset.”

Yuri raised her eyebrow. “I don’t trust easily. I’m already working with you both begrudgingly.”

Chloe backhanded her partner. “What she means to say is, that we don’t want to put anyone else in danger. Plus, well, yeah. She doesn’t really work well with others.”

“If we’re talking about who I think we are, then I promise you, she’ll be good help. Kara can get along with practically anyone. She’s sneaky and knows how to defend herself. Plus, Fisk doesn’t trust the cops here since we aren’t on his payroll. There’s no way he’ll talk to us,” Maggie reasoned.

Yuri seemed to think about it. “Fine. But if she gets in the way, I will pull her away from the front lines. There won’t be a story to write if she’s dead.” Spidey nodded in agreement.

They chatted for a bit about life in National City and got to know each other a little better. After about half an hour, Lena remembered that she wanted to speak with the captain. She excused herself and knocked on his door.

“Come in,” he called out. Spider-Woman stepped into the office and offered a smile. Not that it mattered though since he couldn’t tell.

“Evening, Captain” She sat in the chair. “So Lena is hiring Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn for her company and they’ll be living on the edge of town. I know they aren’t well known here, but I would really appreciate it if none of your officers arrested them or shot them.”

The Captain smiled and shook his head. “She really does have a big heart, doesn’t she? Saving all these criminals.” He shrugged. “I’ll make sure nothing happens as long as they don’t start anything.”

“Of course.” They talked about how the metahuman initiative was going. Sandman was now in a regular cell thanks to the collar he wore instead of one that was kept at freezing to keep him from using his powers. Psi was displeased at being caught and having her powers dampened. And as far as anybody knew, Livewire was in the wind.

“There’s someone trying to break into your house, Boss,” Hope informed. That got Lena’s attention. She said goodbye and swung home as fast as she could. 8 minutes later, she landed on the side of her house. She opened the kitchen window and slipped in.

“I know you’re in here!” All of Lena’s muscles were tensed. She could hear a strong heartbeat coming from her living room. Who was it? Did Lex send someone to try and off her? He hadn’t done so since they struck their deal, but she wouldn’t completely disregard that option. And how was someone able to bypass her security? She walked into the room and stopped in her tracks. “Felicia?”

Lounging on her couch as if she owned the place was none other than Felicia Hardy in her Black Cat costume. A cheshire smile crept onto her face. “Hey, Spider. I like this suit. It looks good on you.” She stood up and circled around the vigilante once, soaking in the look.

“What are you doing here?” She hissed. If Felicia was still able to remember the combination lock to her locks, then she really should change them.

“Can’t drop by to see my ex?” She asked innocently.

Lena crossed her arms. “You’re wearing your suit.”

“So are you. Lena.” The Cat stalked towards her and started to trace the white spider emblem. “Figured we could go steal something while we’re both dressed up.”

“That’s not who I am anymore.” Lena didn’t even bother trying to lie to the woman. She could always see through her lies anyway. She took off her mask and stepped away from her ex. “We broke up because of it, remember?”

“Of course I remember,” she scowled. “There’s this jewelry exhibition in town and I tracked my father’s ring to it. If you help me, I promise that’s the only thing I’ll take. Cat’s honor.” 

Lena contemplated it. Walter Hardy, her father, was a thief who died on a job back when they were in college. Felicia didn’t have much to remember him by, so having his ring would be a good thing. She also promised to not steal anything else…

As if sensing her resolve slipping, the Black Cat stepped back into the Spider’s space and leaned into her ear, “Don’t you miss being bad?” She licked Lena’s neck and bit at her ear playfully.

“I have a girlfriend. Who I love. A lot. No threesomes,” Lena sputtered as she stepped back.

“Alright, alright,” she relented. “I’ll let you gush about her on the way there. C’mon.” She started for the front door but Lena caught her arm.

“Don’t just walk out my front door, are you crazy? What if someone sees you? Out the back, come on.”

Lena had ended up web-swinging to the location while Felicia was on her back. Her claws dug into the metahuman’s shoulders but she decided not to mention it. She had Hope put the cameras to the building on a loop. She decided to be on lookout while Felicia went inside and stole the actual ring. Within five minutes, she had exited. Hope cut the loop and the pair jumped on a roof a couple of blocks away.

“Thanks, Spider. Honestly.” The Black Cat smiled. The gold ring was placed into a small pocket. “I won’t ask you for help next time. I don’t want to ruin your reputation.”

“Merci, Chat Noir,” Lena spoke. French was  _ their _ language. They spoke it to each other around other people so they could flirt shamelessly or plot their next petty theft. Harry learned it out of pure pettiness so he could be included in the conversation. “ _ I really like who Spider-Woman is. I can’t lose her right now. Not when everyone still hates Lena _ .”

“I’ve seen the news,” she nodded as she slipped into French. “ _ Society is stupid. That’s why I refuse to work a nine to five job. I’ll keep stealing from the rich and living off of their stuff.” Lena playfully pushed the blonde. “I won’t steal from you, though. I agree with what you’re doing _ .”

They stayed on the roof catching up, reminiscing about the old days, until Felicia yawned. By the time Lena made it back home, it was nearly 2 am. She was used to sleeping at this time anyway.

The next two days passed in a blur of paperwork and crime-fighting. By the time Friday rolled around, Lena was tired. Jennifer Walters, her lawyer, was meeting her at Arkham later to go over the paperwork.

“Hey, Lena. You ready to go?” Kara hugged her from behind and Lena sunk into the comfort her girlfriend brought.

“Yeah. Batman knows we’re coming right? I don’t want to accidentally, I don’t know, spook him? Does he even have any fears?” She had been to Gotham once or twice before and never met the Bat but she’d seen enough of him in pictures to see how intimidating he was.

“He’s a huge sweetheart under all that darkness, I promise.” Kara kissed her neck. “He used to be scared of bats, believe it or not. But I didn’t tell you that!” Lena turned around and kissed Kara on the lips.

“Ironic. Please don’t break the sound barrier. I’m still mostly human.”

Supergirl nodded. “I’ll be careful with my speed. We’ll still be there in no time!”

True to her word, 6 minutes later, they floated outside of a cave with a waterfall. Wayne Mansion sat on top of it, a bit in the distance. Kara flew towards it slowly and before Lena could ask what was going on, the waterfall parted to reveal an entrance to the cave. Batcave. How fitting.

Once they reached the center, Supergirl touched down. Lena took a look around and her eyes widened. There was a wall with supercomputers and there was a platform that had the batmobile. There was also a boat and helicopter. She walked over to another wall that had a mannequin along with some weapons. Batman was obviously out at the moment, but there were still some batarangs left behind. She admired the handiwork. He took good care of his stuff.

“So Batman just, what, lives in Bruce Wayne’s basement?” Lena joked as she continued to look around. There was a small draft and it was starting to get chilly.

“No, Bruce lives in Batman’s attic,” Kara laughed. She wrapped her girlfriend in her cape. “This cave is so awesome, though. I wish we could have one.”

“The waterfall is a nice touch,” Lena agreed. Her eyes spotted an elevator in a dark corner. Guess she wasn’t the only billionaire vigilante.

The sound of a motorcycle caught their attention. “Sorry I’m late.” He parked the bike and stuck his hand out to Lena. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Ms. Luthor. Kara has told me a lot about you.”

She shook his hand with a small blush on her face. “It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, Batman. Kara has told me next to nothing about you. Though, that is for the best, right?” She sent a teasing wink to the Kryptonian.

“I am curious as to why you want Dr. Isley and Ms. Quinn,” he started. “They don’t work too well with others.”

“They don’t work well with men,” she corrected. Batman smirked and nodded. “Dr. Isley is impressive. With her powers and intellect, we could change the world for the better. It’s a shame Wayne Enterprise didn’t think of it earlier.” She gave him a knowing look and he seemed unphased by the knowledge. 

In fact, he shot back, “Spiders and plants do work well together though, don’t they?”

Kara whistled, clearly impressed. “Alright you two, come one. I’ll fly above while you both take the Batmobile.”

“I’m actually going to speak with Dr. Crane while my lawyer speaks to Dr. Isley. Would you mind accompanying me? Supergirl can be with her,” she said once she stepped into the vehicle. The Batmobile was beautiful and she really had to get a look at the blueprints. It was an amazing piece of technology.

“Dr. Crane is a nutjob, I’m not sure what you want from him.” The engine roared to life and they sped off.

“I hear he’s an expert on fear. I want to ask him some questions on it, maybe find out if he has any research on his fear gas. It’s for a personal project of mine.” Bruce didn’t say anything but he nodded once in acknowledgment.

The drive was short and silent. She heard Kara’s cape fluttering in the wind above the car and that was the only thing to bring her comfort. The gates came into view and Lena’s eyes widened at the asylum. It was huge. Old. It towered over the forest that surrounded it and it looked like something straight out of a horror movie. The closer she got, the heavier she felt in her chest. Her spider-sense buzzed uncomfortably.

“Ms. Luthor.” She shook hands with her lawyer. “I see you’ve brought backup?” She quirked a playful eyebrow.

“Batman will be with me and Supergirl will be with you. We’ll regroup once I’ve finished my conversation.”

“Certainly. Let’s head in, shall we?” 

The four walked to the doors of the asylum and were met by guards. She expected a patdown or something, but they glanced at them and let them through. Batman started down the left corridor and she followed next to him, keeping her Luthor face on. Her spider-sense flared the deeper they ventured into the hospital and her teeth were on edge. She hated this place. They rounded a corner and she saw some familiar people. The Penguin. Clayface. The cells looked normal except for Mr. Freeze’s which was built like a freezer. She fought the urge to shiver.

“Hickory, dickory, dock. The mouse ran up the clock. Hickory, dickory, dock.” They stopped in front of Dr. Crane’s cell. He sat on the cot coloring.

“Dr. Crane?” He looked up and her and it took all of her willpower to not flinch at the sight. His eyes were wide, a crazed look in them. His face had some scars, but his mouth… his mouth was sewn shut. “My name is Lena Luthor and I have some questions about fear, if you are willing to answer them.”

He stood up and walked to the bars of his cell, looking her over. “How I wonder what you are, up above the world so high.”

She took that as an invitation to ask. “I know you specialize in fear and scaring people. You even have a fear toxin. I was wondering if you were willing to share that formula with me?” It was a long shot, she knew that, but it was worth asking.

“You want the fear! Yes, yes, I volunteer. Let me scare your worries until they disappear!” He laughed like a madman.

“Actually Dr. Crane, I would like to see your research. Go over it myself, not be induced to it,” she said calmly.

He paced his cell. “But it still lingered near, and waited patiently about, till Mary disappeared.”

“I think it could help a friend of mine. He’s a doctor who was exposed to fear, too. He is unwell.” She wondered briefly if she could somehow help Jonathan if she was able to help Otto. Though, looking into those crazed eyes, she doubted it.

“Bah, bah, a black sheep!” He pointed an accusatory finger at her. She nodded in agreement. He hummed as he thought. “Unwell, as I am in this cell?”

“Similar. His brain has changed because of the fear.” The Scarecrow grinned and she was glad she had years of training to keep her face composed. It was unsettling, the threads in his mouth taught because of the pull.

“His brain can’t handle it. Soon he’ll go insane! All that pain…” he had a faraway look. “Mama called the doctor and the doctor said no more monkeys jumping on the bed! Couldn’t put Humpty together again.”

“No more monkeys jumping on the bed,” she agreed. “Will you help me, Doctor? Can you tell me where you have your research?”

“My research.” He frowned but ended up nodding. “Four miles west of the church. Wood and clay will wash away, my fair lady. Iron and steel will bend and bow, my fair lady. The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish. Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish” he nodded vigorously as if that was the answer.

“I think I know where it is,” Bruce suddenly spoke. With her nerves on edge and all her focus on the man in front of her, she almost punched him.

“Thank you, Dr. Crane.” She decided to play along with his nursery rhymes. “The doctor came with his bag and his hat, and knocked at the door with a rat-a-tat-tat. He wrote a paper for a pill, pill, pill. I’ll be back in the morning with the bill, bill, bill.” If she was able to find the research, she’d come back tomorrow to bring him a book as a gift. Perhaps a nursery book.

“Bye, bye, Ms. Luthor! It is you that I now adore!”

“I’ve never seen him that animated,” Bruce observed. “You’ve got a way with words, Ms. Luthor.”

“It comes with the line of work,” she brushed off. “Come on, let’s meet the ladies.”

Once Dr. Isley agreed and signed everything, Harley followed suit, believing in her girlfriend 100%. Jennifer and Lena walked to Dr. Arkham’s office while the two heroes went outside to catch up.

Finally, after an hour, everything was ready to go. Pam and Harley were escorted to the doors in cuffs and were released to Lena.

“I still have some business in Gotham and won’t be leaving until tomorrow. I’m sure I can trust you both to not get in trouble by then?” Lena asked.

Harley grinned. “We’ll be good, Miss. Lutha, I promise ya! Can’t wait to get outta this goddamn city!”

Pam nodded in agreement. “I’d like to go to our old hideout and get some things. How will we get in contact with you?”

Lena fished a phone out of her pocket. “My number is already programmed in there. We should be done by the afternoon tomorrow. Ms. Walters will take you wherever you wish to go. See you both tomorrow.”

Once they were out of sight, the Bat turned to her. “We’re not going today?”

Lena shook her head. “I’ve had an exhausting week. I want to get some dinner and find a hotel to crash at. Right, darling?”

“Right. Food sounds amazing right now,” Kara agreed.

“How about we go to the Batcave, then? I’ll get changed and we could head out. Bruce owns this really nice restaurant and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind taking you lovely ladies out for a night. And the Wayne Mansion has more than enough rooms if you wish to spend the night there.”

“That sounds wonderful. Let’s go.”

True to his word, they went to a fancy restaurant. Lena was glad she stayed in her suit. Bruce wore one himself and Kara borrowed some slacks and a nice dress shirt. She met Selina Kyle, the cat burglar of Gotham as she learned, and actually had a fun time. There were pictures taken of the four of them and she wondered what the media would try and spin about that. 

Eventually, they crashed onto the bed and she practically moaned at how soft it was. She was out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAO y'all I'm telling you right now that magazine cover took me at LEAST 2 hours to figure out. So hard but worth it.
> 
> Some Black Cat in there. She won't be important, at least not really. I'll continue Gotham next chapter, I felt as if this chapter was long enough and it's already kinda late and I just wanna upload. Next chapter or two will be slowish with no major baddies.
> 
> Did you catch my references to my favorite french cartoon? ;) More cameos to shit I like to come! Point them out as you see em.
> 
> Here's my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/dr_halfblood) if anyone is interested. My [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked) if you want to ask questions/talk to me/plz lmao I need friends.
> 
> If you haven't yet checked out my vines for the story, you should. They're kinda funny [(x)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deeqnubwl2k&list=PL9WQHWa8ho4nmgHLiFTHOOVH7RC0E57wc). Here's Spider!Lena's [Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3u4wox2zAJV1uhqZ5TaQ3q). Okay, I think that's everything. 
> 
> HAVE A GOOD DAY EVERYONE AND PLZ STAY SAFE.
> 
> For anyone binge reading this, pause. Take a break. Drink some water. 


	18. A Spider, A Plant, An Alien, and A Harlequin walk into an Ikea...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week in the life of one Lena Luthor including, Ivy & Harley, some Supercorp, tons of drama, and the Holy Trinity.
> 
> There is some angst and Lena does have a panic attack, apologies in advance for that. I promise it's short and it's like towards the end of the chapter? Middle of the end? After she has a conversation with someone on the phone, you'll know.
> 
> Ikea isn't a big part, I gloss over it sorry. Made a funny title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10k words, strap yourselves in for a long read.  
> I wrote this around midnight and currently, it's 3:02 am and y'all know I don't edit my shit, so I hope this chapter is good. Maybe it's a little all over the place. Maybe not.
> 
> Sorry for taking so long to update. With everyone home, I feel weird writing fan fiction in front of my family, you know. They be like... wyd that you're typing so much on ur laptop. Like lmfao what am I supposed to say? So I take to writing at my favorite time of day, at night. My sleep schedule is fucked haha

Look at this amazing fanart! I was really blown away by this. Check out the artist's [twitter](https://twitter.com/WallKettle) and/or their [tumblr!](https://wallkettle.tumblr.com/)

And while I'm here, I have to say: THANK YOU. This story has received a lot of love and it totally has floored me! I started this because of a dream I had and I wrote the first three chapters before saying fuck it, I'll post it. I didn't expect this to get as much love as it did, but it has, so thank you! The comments, the kudos, it all brings a smile to my face. The fanart is also beautifully made. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you to every single one of you. I'm glad my weird idea is loved by so many people! Enjoy the chapter

  
-  
  


Lena’s spider-sense tingling woke her up. Suddenly on alert, she bolted up and ended up hitting her head on something hard.

"Oww," she muttered. Kara quickly started to press kisses on her face. 

"Sorry!" She squeaked. "I was just watching you because usually, you wake up before me so I never really get to see you sleep. Your face is so soft and then you mumble in your sleep sometimes. Then, your nose was starting to scrunch up so I got closer to see if something was wrong and then you just sat up! I didn't move fast enough, sorry. Are you okay?" Instead of answering, Lena brought her girlfriend down for a tender kiss. 

"It's okay, darling. My spider-sense just went off." She idly traced Kara's jawline. "It happens when someone is looking at me for a long time.”

“That must be annoying.” Kara made a face. “I imagine you get looked at a lot. So does your sense always go off? Is it constantly buzzing? I know about all the technical stuff about your powers, but not necessarily how they work.”

Lena hummed as she tucked her head into her girlfriend’s neck. “It’s almost always buzzing and it spikes if someone is staring really hard. If someone is lying, it’ll tingle. And if I’m in danger, the hairs stand up on my neck and my body practically vibrates depending on the danger.” Upon Kara’s confused face, she elaborated: “If someone is about to bump into me on the street, I’ll get goosebumps on the side where the person is about to make contact. If I’m crossing the street and a car is speeding towards me and is about to hit me, I’ll get the neck hairs and move out of the way. If I’m getting shot at, the hairs raise and it tingles. If a rocket launcher is coming at me, then my body will physically try and get me out of the way.

When I’m anxious, my spider-sense gets really on edge. A fly in the room will set it off or someone sneezing. And it just makes me even more anxious. Nothing, as far as I know, makes my spider-sense stop so I try to fall asleep or isolate myself.”

“That’s such an interesting power. Is that why you can catch whatever Sam throws your way? Because you feel it coming towards you?”

“Yeah. It gets annoying sometimes but she finds it funny.” She nuzzled into the warm alien and breathed in her scent. “We should get up before Bruce comes for us.”

Kara pouted before nodding. Just as they changed back into their clothes and were about to leave, Alfred Pennyworth knocked on the door. He led them to the dining room where breakfast was already ready. Bruce and Selina sat across from each other, talking and laughing.

“Good morning. How did you two sleep?” Bruce asked once they sat down.

“Lena passed out right away,” Kara jested. “The mattress was super soft though. I would have slept another five hours if she didn’t drag me out of the bed.”

The metahuman backhanded her playfully. “It’s too early for your dramatics. Thank you once again for letting us stay here, Bruce.”

“Oh, please. He needs more human contact. The only people he sees are me, Alfred, and whatever criminals he fights. Thank you for staying,” Selina smiled. Bruce rolled his eyes and grunted as he sipped his coffee.

“Ew, you drink black coffee too? Is it a rich people thing?” Kara asked with a scrunched nose.

“Not all of us have to ruin our coffee with an obscene amount of sugar. Black coffee is perfectly fine, love,” Lena chided.

“I’m with you on this one, Kara. That shit is discussing.”

Kara and Selina talked to each other over breakfast, comparing what weird stuff their rich significant others did while Bruce and Lena came up with more ideas for business deals.

“Bruce told me that you’re looking for some of Scarecrow’s stuff. I can take you to his old hideout, he told me which one to go to. I’m sure he wants to gossip with Kara about her cousin,” Selina said as the dishes were being picked up.

“We don’t gossip about Clark,” the billionaire scoffed.

Kara giggled. “We totally do. But it’s nothing bad!”

Lena rolled her eyes. “If we’re going to break into his base, I would like the cat burglar with me. You two have fun.” She kissed Kara goodbye and followed Selina to the garage. 

“I hate doing this stuff in broad daylight,” she complained. “The church he’s talking about is on the other side of town though, so I know what backroads to take. You have a preference whether we take a car or a bike?” Lena shook her head. “Cool. Let’s go.”

Selina chose a Harley Davidson and off they went. She thought Maggie’s driving was bad. Oh no. Maggie’s driving had  _ nothing _ on Selina’s. The thief sped with no regard for the speed limit and dangerously weaved in between cars. At one point, she even got on the sidewalk to avoid some red lights. Lena was used to danger - she relied on the artificial spider web to keep her from falling to death - but she actually clung onto the driver. Sure, she trusted Selina wouldn’t purposely let them crash, but she didn’t want to risk it. There were some sharp turns until eventually, the bike skidded to a stop outside an abandoned warehouse.

“I’m never complaining again when Kara takes me flying.” Lena stood on wobbly legs and took some deep breaths in.

Selina cackled. “Harley is the only one who appreciates my driving. Ivy refused to ever get on my bike and Bruce always insists that he drive unless we’re running late.”

“I do appreciate your driving! It’s just not for me. Though, I do have a friend that would love to drive with you.” Maggie would probably want to race, even. “Lead the way,” she gestured to the fenced area.

Ms. Kyle easily scaled the chainlink fence and even did a flip once she got to the top. She raised an eyebrow at the Luthor. Lena looked at the fence, only around 7 feet tall, and decided to jump it. She headed towards it in a light jog and easily jumped the fence, adding a flip of her own. Selina clapped in amusement and led the way.

They had to move and destroy some walls in order to find the papers. When they finally found them, she was satisfied with what she saw. There were equations and sketches of the formula and pages of notes that dated to his time as a psychologist at Gotham University. It was in sloppy handwriting and half of it was in a code she would have to decipher, but she got everything she needed.

“Thank you for bringing me here, Selina. Do you mind if we stop off at a bookstore? I would like to get Dr. Crane a thank you gift.”

Selina shrugged. “Sure. The longer on my bike, the happier I am.”

Lena carefully tucked the papers into the woman’s satchel and mounted onto the bike. She could do this.

“You know, my black cat said she ran into you,” Lena yelled into the driver’s ear.

“Gotham is my territory. She took the diamond I was going to steal so I confronted her. Good old catfight in a back alley. After that, I never heard or saw her again. Figured one of my enemies took her,” she shrugged.

“I really do believe she has nine lives. Nothing can stop that Black Cat.”

“Nothing can stop Catwoman either!”

“Catwoman got domesticated,” Lena joked. Selina swerved the bike and did a wheelie. “Woah, okay, okay. I get it!” Somehow, being on the motorcycle with her driving was now scarier than the time she almost fell to her death from her balcony.

“Everybody ready?” Lena asked as she shouldered the satchel that contained the notes. Dr. Isley, Harley, Kara, and her were standing outside of her private jet.

“Yep! Can’t wait to get see what National City hasta offer! Imagine all the food!” Harley exclaimed to her girlfriend. Ivy shook her head, clearly having heard her girlfriend’s excited rambled all day.

“We’re more than ready, Ms. Luthor,” Dr. Isley said. Lena nodded and gestured for everyone to get on the plane. Even though it was roomy, Harley decided to sit right across from the couple.

“Thank ya again, Miss Luthor for popping us out. Feels good ta not be there anymore.” The woman smiled brightly and took her girlfriend’s hand. “Though, I will miss causing trouble. That was the best part!”

Lena smiled. “Hopefully you’ll find something to do while Dr. Isley’s at work. Are you interested in working?”

“Hmm.” Her face grew pensive for a second. “I dunno. I can’t really go back to being a psychologist because of my history and working at a McDonald’s does not sound like something I can do. And I ain’t smart like Pammy, so I can’t do none of that science stuff.”

“But you would be interested in being a psychologist if you could? I saw you were at the top of your class.” Harley nodded. “Would you be interested in being my psychologist?” Kara looked at her in surprise. It was something they had talked about briefly after her last breakdown. She had refused because 1, she was a Luthor. Even though doctors are sworn to secrecy, Lena had doubts. Anyone would pay to know her secrets. 2, she was Spider-Woman. She wouldn’t trust just anybody with her secret. 3, she didn’t want to feel judged by her thoughts and feelings. But, Harley Quinn had done some awful stuff and was least likely to judge her.

“You mean it? Really?” Her face was hopeful, which made sense. She went to school for years to get her degree and she didn’t get to use it after what happened to her. 

“Of course. You’ll have to sign NDA’s to keep everything confidential, but I’m serious. I trust you and it’s not like I can go see many people.”

“Because you’re Spider-Woman?” Poison Ivy asked casually.

“WHAT?” Harley looked between her girlfriend and Lena in utter disbelief. “YOU’RE THE SPIDER?”

“Yeah.” She wasn’t surprised Ivy knew. Her plants probably told her or something. “I don’t think I have to tell you that it’s a secret?” She raised a perfect, manicured eyebrow.

“My lips are sealed! Woah, we’ll be working for the Spider. So cool.” Harley was bouncing in her seat.

“I’ll have a contract made soon. When we get to National City, I’ll show you the home I’ve bought for you. It’s a 20-minute walk to the lab, but it won’t be ready until tomorrow. The house has basic furniture, but no food or decorations, I wasn’t quite sure what you would like. The greenhouse is empty because I figured you’d want to fill it yourself. The botanist garden is with the lab and it’s been well taken care of, I’m sure you’ll appreciate it.”

“I am very eager to start our work together, Ms. Luthor. I’ve been feeling the most optimistic I’ve felt… well, ever. My babies are even picking up on it.” She stroked the leaf to the potted plant in her lap, completely ignoring Harley’s pout.

The blonde asked her, “Do you know about the matterbaby?” Lena frowned. Was that a type of plant? A science thing?

“What’s the matter baby?” Ivy turned to look at Harley.

“You know I hate it when you pay more attention to your plants than me!” Lena laughed openly at that as the green woman face-palmed.

Lena turned to her girlfriend. “That is  _ so _ something you would say.”

Kara nodded. “Next time you pay Hope more attention than you do to me, I’m totally going to use that.”

Sensing that her joke was a huge hit, Harley went in for another one. “Pammy really changed once she became a vegetarian,” she paused for dramatic effect, “It’s like I’ve never seen herbivore!” Lena clapped, Kara laughed, and Poison Ivy groaned.

“I love joking and quipping while I’m fighting crime. One time, I was fighting someone in an office building and I was like, ‘I guess this is what they call a hostile workplace!’ Not even mentioning the puns I got in!”

“Imagine if Batsy joked while he was beating up us criminals?” Quinn pondered out loud. “Actually, I think I’d be more scared if he smiled. Dark and brooding really fits him.”

For the first half of the flight, Harley and Lena continued to swap bad jokes while Ivy and Kara rolled their eyes and watched affectionately. Kara rarely saw Lena look this carefree. The stress lines were gone, her shoulders weren’t tensed, and even her heartbeat seemed to be laughing along with her. The laughs had started small, barely giggles, until it was full-blown laughter. The alien didn’t see how the jokes were  _ that _ funny, but Lena must have been on a roll with laughing so much that she couldn’t stop. She even snorted at one point. Towards the end, both her and Harley were laughing silently with tears in their eyes.

Once the CEO had calmed down some, she had taken to talking to Dr. Isley about their work and what she most was excited for. Kara didn’t know too much about earth science but she was intrigued all the same and asked questions when she was curious. The two scientists were happy to fill her in and ask for her opinion on some things. Harley fell asleep five minutes in.

When they landed, Lena’s car was there, ready to go. Everyone packed their things into the car and off they went. The couple’s house was only a five minute drive from Lena’s. The billionaire lived at the edge of the city because she figured that’d be the safest option when she first moved there.

Kara unloaded the car as Lena opened the house. It was nothing too fancy - a two-story house with a backyard. Harley ran inside excitingly and started to look through the rooms.

“Do we get to decorate it however we’s want to?” Harley asked.

“Yes. You and Dr. Isley can modify the house whichever way you would like. The deed is under both of your names. You can order anything you want online or we can go shopping tomorrow after I show you the lab.” Lena watched in amusement as the young woman clapped.

“Yes! Does this mean we can have pets?” Lena glanced at Ivy who was busy with her plants.

“If that’s something the both of you would like, sure.”

Poison Ivy put her plant down with an odd expression on her face. She shook her head and walked over to join in on the conversation. “We would appreciate it if you would take us shopping tomorrow. And please, after everything you’ve done for us, you can call me either Pam or Ivy.”

The youngest Luthor smiled. “Then call me Lena.”

The four decided that they would meet at the lab the next day at 10 in the morning. After giving Harley and Ivy their credit cards, the super couple made their way to the car.

“I wonder what the neighborhood will think of their new neighbors,” Kara mused aloud.

“Not many people will bat an eyelash at Ivy’s skin tone, but they’re in for a ride, that’s for sure. I can almost guarantee they will either love Harley or hate her, there will be no in between.” The neighborhood she lived in was a quiet one. It was mostly older people who liked to keep to themselves, something Lena found important when she was looking for places to live.

Kara hummed. “I like her. I can’t believe you asked her to be your shrink though. That’s a big step, I’m proud of you babe.” She leaned over to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek.

“I can’t afford to have emotional breakdowns,” she sighed. “You said the shrink at the DEO helps you, so I figured I could give it a shot.”

“It helps a lot,” Kara agreed. “It’ll be tough at first to talk through things, but it’ll be worth it.” Lena pulled into her driveway and locked the car. “I promised Winn that I’d help him with something when I got back. But, I can stay with you for a little bit first, if you want.”

“No, it’s okay.” Lena unlocked the door and closed it behind them. “I’m going to be in the lab tinkering away for a while then I’m going out for patrol. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course. Don’t stay up too late, okay?” The younger woman nodded and they kissed before parting. Supergirl flew out the back door and Lena headed upstairs to finish her girlfriend’s suit. She was close to figuring it out, all she needed was some final adjustments.

It was nearing midnight when Lena finished. An ordinary, unsuspecting set of black-framed glasses along with a silver watch sat on her table that was littered with wires, broken pieces of technology, and granola bar wrappers.

“Congratulations, Boss! There is a 99.99% chance that Kara will love it,” Hope informed.

“I like those chances.”

It had taken nearly six hours just that day, but it was completely worth it. Not only would the suit only materialize if Kara pressed it in a specific spot, but it was also Kryptonite proof. Only an overwhelming amount should affect her. Her back was full of tension from her time hunched over, her fingers ached, and her eyes were sore from looking at something that was close to her face for too long. She noticed that was happening more and more often. Her vision was perfect, she could see miles away, but if she was looking at something close for too long, her eyes hurt. Well, contacts and glasses were going to be her next project. That could wait though, she really ached to go out and get some fresh air.

Putting on the suit she and Ruby had fixed up, Spider-Woman flung into the night sky. Once she was in the depths of the city, she ran up the side of a tall building and allowed herself to freefall before swinging rapidly. It was such an exotic feeling. It wasn’t quite as freeing as flying, and not as peaceful as running, but something in between. She constantly had to run equations through her head to make sure she didn’t accidentally kill herself by swinging into a building too fast or undershoot or something. Yet, it was calming doing that. Those equations through her head were easy math, it was like reading and speaking at this point. She could focus on that while not completely shutting her brain off.

Spider-Woman side-flipped onto a nearby roof and started to free run for a bit while keeping an ear out on the city. While cars were still bustling around and businesses still open, no crime was happening. Her senses buzzed and it took her a second too long to realize why. The Spider bulldozed into a hard body and the two crumpled onto the roof.

“Shit, Spidey,” the voice groaned. “I thought you could sense me or something.”

Spider-Woman pushed herself up and was about to apologize when she saw who it was. “Well, why the fuck you just standing around on the roof?”

The Black Cat stood up and brushed imaginary dirt off of her suit. “No reason.” Lena heard sirens coming closer and the lenses to her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the cat burglar. “It was nice running into you.” She gave a two finger salute and started running away.

“Hey, wait!” Lena called after her. “What’d you steal this time?” She easily caught up to her ex.

“Would you believe me if I told you I stole all of the pens from Edge’s top floor?” The sirens were closer now, probably a few blocks away.

“C’mon Felicia, what’d you take?”

“I’m serious! It’s all pens!” She started to climb a taller building. There were at least four cruisers pursuing her. She had to have taken something else.

“Furrtunately for you, I’m a good friend.” Spidey wrapped an arm around the cat and shot a web off into the distance. Once in the air, the passenger climbed onto Lena’s back for an easier experience.

“Cat pun, really?” Felicia snorted.

“I think they’re pretty clawver, if you ask me.” She took a sharp right and started up her building.

“You’re such a nerd. Glad to see that much hasn’t changed,” the burglar said fondly. Once they reached the roof, the cat dismounted. “You trapped me up here.” She crossed her arms.

“That many cops wouldn’t be after you for stealing some pens,” Spidey pointed out. “What’d you really take?”

Seeing that she had no choice, Felicia slung off the book bag and spilled the contents onto the floor of the roof. A file with papers in it fell out along with a bunch of pens. Good to know she was still immature with her pranks.

“I overheard from some thugs that Edge was close to finding out your secret identity. He’s pissed off at Spider-Woman and Lena Luthor, so I’m guessing he thought exposing who the hero was would ruin your life or something. I don’t know. Anyway, I had to go see if it was true, and well,” she gestured at the file. “He thinks it’s someone working at L-Corp.” Lena took off her mask and looked through the papers.

“I’ve got to change up my routine,” she murmured to herself. Lena tried to go on patrols at least twice a week so her girlfriend could have some time to herself. Since she took over CatCo, she hadn’t had time to patrol as much during the day. She didn’t have an office, so it was harder to slip off for hours at a time. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Felicia pursed her lips and looked at her claws. “Look, I owe you big time for everything you’ve done for me. Figured this was something small I could do to try and repay that debt.”

Spider-Woman put the papers together and handed it back to the Cat before putting on her mask. She walked over to the edge of the building and sat down. “You don’t owe me anything, Felicia, but thank you. I’m going to warn Supergirl in case he tries anything.” She was also going to program Hope so she would be able to detect if anyone posted anything that may expose her.

“You and your hero complex,” she gibed. “I’m sorry for what happened to that doctor friend of yours. I heard they’re going to jail him despite your testimony and evidence. The system is fucked.”

“Is that why you find so much pleasure in messing with it?” Dr. Octavius was going to jail after all… well, she’d do her best to at least get him in his own cell and watched over. Once she figured out a way to safely fix his brain, maybe they’d see reason.

“I’m only causing a bit of mischief and stealing from the rich. It’s not like I’m killing people or anything!” she defended herself. “I’m living the life, Lena. No nine to five job, I don’t pay taxes, and I get to do whatever I want to do. Should’ve ditched with me when you had the chance.”

Lena lightly shoved her friend. “I should turn you in to the cops.”

“You wouldn’t though because you love me.” Lena raised an eyebrow but realized it wouldn’t show. “You wouldn’t, right?”

“As long as you stay away from L-Corp and continue to do petty stuff, then I won’t. You know, I run two companies. I could easily get you a job as a lab technician or a low-level reporter or something,” she offered.

“I don’t even know if I’m going to stay in National City. I’ve got my father’s ring, and I see you’re doing well for yourself. Maybe I’ll go traveling like we planned to do.” Felicia elbowed Lena playfully. In college, they told themselves that they’d leave their lives behind and travel to different places. Different countries every couple of months, completely off the radar. Just the two of them, no one else. But then Felicia wanted to start her life of crime.

“Won’t you get lonely, though? Being out there all alone?” Lena had traveled to National City, away from her old life, but at least she had Jess. And not long after, she found Kara. “National City isn’t half bad, you know. Maybe you’ll find someone here who can’t keep their paws off of you.”

“You’re terrible,” Black Cat laughed. They spent an hour gossiping, watching the cars drive below them. It was nearing 1:30 in the morning when Lena finally got home. She changed out of her suit and passed out on her bed.

-

“Hey, babe!” Kara jogged over, her hair wind-swept and her shirt buttoned wrong. “I’m not late, am I?”

Lena raised her head for a kiss. “No. They’re on their way. Should be here soon.” She started to fix the Kryptonian’s shirt buttons.

Sure enough, two minutes later, Ivy and Harley rounded the corner.

“This is one heck of a lab,” the metahuman whistled.

“I had to make sure it was big enough for our work.” The lab was the biggest one in the city. It had two floors and a basement. The first floor was open and had things to take samples. Upstairs was where the testing was done. Lena pressed her palm to the door. “I’ll be sure to add your handprints before we leave.”

Lena took them all on a tour and left the garden for last. Once they did reach it, Pam seemed to brighten up. When the door opened, the plants all faced her. 

“This is amazing, Lena,” she said in awe. “You’ve truly outdone yourself. I can’t wait until we’ve saved all the endangered species.” She stopped at each plant they walked passed and made sure to give it attention.

“Thank you. I doubt we’ll be able to save all of the endangered species in my lifetime, but I do want to start the process.” Ivy hummed and Harley was running around, staring at the different kinds of plants. “I’ve got a surprise to show you,” she spoke to Kara.

“You do?” Lena nodded as she took her girlfriend’s house and led her back towards the lab. There was a side door that Lena had to use her palm print and an eye scan for. She was taking no chances with this.

The door opened to reveal stairs. They headed down and Lena had to use her other hand for a scan and put in a pin. Kara raised her eyebrows in question but stayed silent. The door opened and a light turned on, revealing a normal, white room like upstairs with another door. When they headed inside, Kara noticed there was workout equipment as well as some medical stuff. On the far side of the wall, the MK II stood in a glass case next to an empty mannequin. Lena led them through the other door.

“Do you trust me?” The alien nodded her head. Lena pressed a button and the room was enveloped in red. “The DEO used Kryptonite to weaken your powers so you could spar with Alex. Although I’m enhanced, you’re still far stronger than I am, but I’ve been wanting to spar with you for a while. Based on what you’ve told me about Krypton and what I’ve found in Lex’s journals, I’ve found a way to emulate the red sun. There are different intensities so you’ll still have your powers, but you won’t be as strong. I hope this is okay. I would much rather do this than Kryptonite because no way am I putting that stuff near you. Is this okay? Is it too much? Is-” Kara cut her off with a kiss.

“You designed red sun lamps so Kryptonite wouldn’t be used? That’s amazing, sweetheart. I love it.” Kara kissed her again to prove her point. “I always feel queasy afterward and it irritates my skin. So, thank you.”

Lena blushed and hoped the red hue of the room hid that fact. She reached into the pockets of her jacket and pulled out the pair of glasses and watch. “I also finished your suit last night.”

Excitingly, Kara exchanged the glasses and fastened the watch to her wrist. She then pulled the glasses off and watched in awe as the suit materialized around her in less than two seconds. She was floating in the air in joy. “Lena, you are my favorite person in the whole multiverse!” Kara wrapped Lena up in a hug and spun her in a circle before kissing her as if her life depended on it. “I love the pants.”

The metahuman agreed. Her thighs looked absolutely delicious in them. “I also made an improved sunbed for you if you get really injured or something.” She brought them back into the main room and pointed at it. “The sun grenades are still a work in progress, I’m not too sure how to do it yet. Maybe we can work on it together?”

“Really? Yes! Rao, I love you Lena.” The alien then bent down to whisper in Lena’s ear despite them being the only ones there. “Maybe you should make a red sun lamp for your bedroom.”

Lena laughed shakily and felt her knees go weak. “I, uh.” God, only Kara could have that effect on her. She decided to change the topic. “This is kind of like our secret base. I have a lot of my webbing here and new prototypes. Hope has her own suit here, too. This one is specifically modified for her.”

“You really went above and beyond,” Kara marveled. “Does the spider squad know about this place?”

“Not yet, I wanted you to be the first to know about it. Alex is welcomed here any time so she can spar with you while the DEO undergoes changes. I’ll show Sam sometime this week so she can run her monthly test on me.”

“I can’t wait to teach you some of my killer moves. I’ve also noticed that you’ve made up some of your own moves while in aerial combat. Can you teach me?” They headed towards the exit when Lena remembered she didn’t show Kara how to deactivate the suit.

“Of course, darling. By the way, to deactivate the suit, just double-tap where the watch was. Your glasses will form in your right hand.” Kara double tapped her left wrist and watched in awe, again, as the suit started to dematerialize. Just as her girlfriend said, the glasses formed in her right hand. She put them on her face as a grin sported her face.

“You will never cease to amaze me, Lena Luthor,” the alien complimented. Lena looked down to try and hide the shy smile but Kara wasn’t having it. “Don’t hide your beautiful smile, babe.”

“There you guys are! Thought ya left us,” pouted Harley.

“I’m sorry. Are you both ready to go shopping?”

“Heck yeah! Pam said I could pick everything out as long as she got to do the bedroom. I said that that was a fair compromise. Pammy’s smart like that, she always knows how to make us happy. Huh, babe?”

The green woman rolled her eyes. “Anything makes you happy, Harls,” she snorted. She interlocked their pinkies. “You make me happy too. We’re a great team.”

“Yeah, we are! That’s why we’re about to kick ass at Ikea!”

Lena squeezed Kara’s hand. She just hoped they didn’t get kicked out.

-

They would have been kicked out if A) Lena wasn’t a Luthor and B) the employees weren’t scared half to death of the infamous Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. Kara was in charge of keeping track of everything Harley said she wanted and Lena was in charge of making sure they didn’t cause too much of a disturbance. She failed.

Harley was riding down the aisle in a shopping cart. Which was fine, it wasn’t a big deal. She had been locked up in Arkham Asylum for a long time. But then, she had found a pair of roller skates and chose to travel that way, nearly knocking people out of the way. Kara followed closely behind using some of her super speed. But then everyone got separated so it became an odd game of marco polo. They ended up staying in the store for nearly four hours.

Supergirl flew the furniture to the house to help speed up the process while Spider-Woman started assembling it. It was nearing 5 by the time everything was settled.

“Oh shoot! We forgot groceries!” Lena and Kara exchanged looks.

“How about I take Pam grocery shopping and you stay here with Kara to continue building the furniture. You can use your mallet,” Lena bribed. Harley brightened at the idea. “We’ll pick something up on the way home, okay? Text me if you need anything.”

Lena decided on taking her car. Ivy sat in the passenger seat and they went to Lena’s favorite store. It was mostly organic, but they had a good selection of junk food too. The two scientists were talking about their upcoming project and Lena felt eyes burning into her. Although the workers were friendly to her, the patrons still hated her because of her last name. One man tried to shove into her but she easily dodged it. He ended up falling on the ground, cracking his eggs. She had to stifle a laugh.

“Why do all these people hate you?”

“Because of my brother and mother.”

“But don’t they see all the good you’ve done? All the lives you’ve saved?” Ivy’s eyes glowed unnaturally green. “That’s why I prefer to stay with my plants. They won’t hurt me for trying to help.”

Lena hummed in agreement. “I’m craving Mexican. Does that sound good?”

“It’s Harley’s favorite.”

Lena spent all of Monday dealing with the rumors about her, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. Of course, people were speculating all sorts of bizarre rumors so she had to give an interview with Snapper Carr. She ended her day early to check in on the preparations for the opening of FEAST on Tuesday. She ran into Felicia again that night and she had stolen all of the staplers from Maxwell Lord (and an expensive-looking painting she pointedly ignored).

The opening of FEAST did go smoothly. Mayor Ron Morrison was there and gave a speech. Her old business partner, Mr. Martin Li, gave a few words himself before she cut the red ribbon. Both Martin Li and May Parker were in charge of the facility and she felt as if it were in capable hands. Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson were there and they had lunch so Lena could do an interview for the Daily Bugle. After that, she went to check in on her children's hospital. Then, after that, she barely made it on time to Sam’s where they were having a family dinner with Harry.

Apparently, Harry was not very fond of spiders. When he saw one climbing on the coffee table while they were in the living room watching a movie after dinner, he screamed.

“Get rid of it!” He tried using Ruby’s notebook to fling it away.

“Treat spiders the way you want to be treated!” Ruby protested as she tried to protect it.

“Killed without hesitation?” Lena asked. Ruby and Sam both stared at her in disbelief.

“Are you okay?” Sam whispered. “You’re literally a spider.”

Which led to Lena’s first therapy session with Harley on Wednesday. They had decided on meeting at Lena’s place since it was somewhere she associated as a safe place. Things went fairly well, it was only an introduction. Lena learned that Harley used to be in gymnastics and sometimes missed it. Maybe Ruby would want to learn from her. After all, that girl learned a bunch of odd things from her surrogate family.

(Last ‘family’ gathering, she had called Maggie ‘Auntie Mags’ and the detective cried)

Thursday was by far the worst day of that month. Probably of the whole year, honestly.

She knew something was wrong when Eve gave her a strained smile. She hadn’t thought much of it until she sat at her desk and noticed a magazine face down on it. She picked it up and stared at the cover for a good minute.

Lena hadn’t even realized that Felicia’s alter ego already had made itself known throughout National City. If she had realized that Black Cat was already known as a cat thief, she wouldn’t have hung out with her so publically. Her tweet earlier that week didn’t help her case either.

The CEO flipped to the page and saw it was written by J.J. Jameson himself. It was all pure speculation, of course, but he went on about how Spider-Woman was obviously up to no good and that she was probably cheating on Supergirl. It was a bunch of bullshit, but he had a lot of followers, so who knew if this would blow up. Shit.

She dialed Kara’s number and was slightly surprised when it went straight to voicemail. Then again, the Super did have a pretty nasty fight with an alien last night so she was probably resting before work. Sam and Jess wouldn’t be in for another hour and Lena didn’t want to bother her friends, so she took to pacing instead.

She hadn’t told Kara that she had been hanging out with Black Cat. As far as her girlfriend was concerned, Lena didn’t know the woman’s secret identity. And she couldn’t say that she knew Cat’s identity because she didn’t want to expose Felicia. It wouldn’t be hard to connect the dots of Black Cat coming to National City the same time Lena’s ex-girlfriend did and about how close they are. Would Kara be even more jealous if she found out the Cat was her ex? Mad? Upset?

No, her girlfriend wasn’t like that. It had honestly slipped Lena’s mind to bring it up. What was she even supposed to say anyway? Spider-Woman didn’t even seek out the Cat, they kept bumping into each other. Lena didn’t even know where Felicia lived and she didn’t have her number, so it’s not like they could talk as civilians. Well, there was Twitter, but that felt weird. She didn’t want to slide in her dms.

Lena calmed herself down and counted to 10. She jumped down from the ceiling and read MJ’s story on her. It was well written and thoughtful, so that was good. She sent Peter a message to let his girlfriend know she liked the story. Deciding that she was fretting too much on nothing, she tried to focus on her work.

She was catching up on emails when Sam came in, a worried expression on her face.

“Have you checked Twitter recently?”

“No?” Lena grabbed her phone to see what was wrong but Sam snatched it out of her hand. 

“I don’t think you should check.” She saw the magazine cover and realization dawned on her face. “Has Kara seen it?”

“No. I called her about an hour ago but her phone was turned off. I swear it’s not what it looks like. We’re just two friends hanging out.”

“I know, honey. I know. And I know Kara will probably laugh or roll her eyes at it. But the people on the internet are being kind of nasty to you right now. Spider you, I mean.” Great, just what she needed.

Lena stood up and looked out her window to watch the city. “So we’ve hung out a few times. So what? That doesn’t give him the right to try and say that shit!” She clenched and unclenched her hands. “We were just talking! There’s no proof of anything else.”

Sam placed a hand on her arm. “You get bad rep all the time, Lena. It’ll blow over soon, you know it will. Is there anything I can do?” This wasn’t the same, though. Spider-Woman’s integrity was being attacked!

“No. Thanks for warning me, Sammy. I’ll be fine.” The CFO stood there unsurely but reluctantly nodded and went into her office. To get her mind off of what was happening, she went down into the labs. Jess was currently working with Dr. Isley, so she decided to check in with other people and help if anyone needed help.

She spent nearly three hours in the lab with still no call from Kara. It was lunchtime but Lena felt sick to her stomach and her anxiety was starting to rise. Back to the office it was.

Not even half an hour later, there was a timid knock at the door that left Lena on edge. Eve came in, nervous as hell to the point of practically trembling.

“Ms. Luthor, Mr. Fisk would like to speak to you. He’s very insistent,” she glanced behind her fearfully.

“Send him in.” She hoped her voice was even.

She felt the vibrations in the air shift as Wilson Fisk stood up. She heard his heavy footfalls as he approached her. He stomped into her office, cane in hand and a rabid smile on his face.

“Lena! It’s so good to see you again! You look beautiful as always,” he complimented. No wonder the media loved him so much, he was a smooth talker, just as Lex was.

“Mr. Fisk, it has been a while.” She stood up and shook his hand, extremely proud when none of her anxieties showed on the outside.

“It has been, indeed!” His smile turned feral. “I hear you’re dating an alien and you’re supporting them. What have you done to the Luthor name, Lena? I’m surprised your brother hasn’t killed you.”

Her smile was thin. “Well, it wasn’t for lack of trying.” She poured herself a glass of water with steady hands.

“I’m minimizing the alien population here in National City. It’ll be fun to see Supergirl’s face when she’s realized she can’t win. Lillian is a resourceful person. I’m very grateful for your family, Lena.” God, she hated him. Even if she showed this recording to the police, it wouldn’t land. They’d say it was somehow altered or that he was merely joking around.

“Did you just come here to boast about your nefarious plans? I’ll have you know that this city has Spider-Woman  _ and _ Supergirl protecting it. Not even you can take them down.”

“It’s disgusting how much you care for the aliens,” Fisk snarled. “If I had it my way, I would tear L-Corp down. Alas, I made a promise to your brother and mother that you were off-limits. But Spider-Woman is fair game. I will tear that mutant limb for limb. Using their powers to help the filth instead of eliminating them. What a waste of a gift.”

“What do you want, Fisk? You hate aliens, how original. You want them dead, okay. You hate my guts, got it. You just sound like a broken recording of my brother,” she baited.

Fisk howled with laughter and it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “There’s your spunk! I have a business proposition that I wouldn’t reject. I invest in some of your stocks, you invest in some of mine. Then we make the announcement that we’re teaming up! My assistant will forward you all the details. You get good press, I get good press, it’s a win-win.” Lena narrowed her eyes at him.

“Why?”

“I am a businessman first and foremost. Unless you’d rather I do business with someone who shares my values like Morgan Edge?”

“Fine. Email my assistant everything and I’ll have a look at it. If that’s all, Mr. Fisk, I have companies to run.”

“Very well Ms. Luthor.” He walked over to the door then stopped. “If you think the Cat and Spider rumors are bad, just wait until you see what else I have in store for the insect and alien.” He then opened the door and called out in a sickly sweet voice, “It was a pleasure seeing you again, dear. I’m looking forward to working together.”

When the door shut completely, Lena was practically vibrating on the spot with nerves. What did that mean? What did that mean?! She picked up her phone and dialed the phone to the prison.

“Alexander Joseph Luthor, what the hell do you and Fisk have planned?” She asked through clenched teeth once the line connected to him.

He chuckled. “Lena, Lena,” he chided. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You know damn well what I’m talking about, Lex. You know Supergirl is off limits and I told you I was handling Spider-Woman.”

“Handling her is what you’re calling it?” He sneered. “Seriously Lena, how could you betray us like this? Betray me?”

“Oh, that’s just rich!” She laughed. “You were the one who betrayed me, Lex! I’m not getting into this with you right now. What the hell does Fisk have planned?”

“He’s there to find that damned traitor doctor. If he happens to have plans of his own, well, that’s on him. Will that be all, my dear sister?”

She didn’t even respond. She hung up and felt like she was suffocating. Everyone hated Lena Luthor, she could live with that. But Spider-Woman… Spider-Woman was important to her. That couldn’t be ripped away from her. Neither could Kara. If Fisk was in contact with Lillian, then that meant he most likely had some Kryptonite. He wasn’t even going to strike soon, she knew that much. Fisk worked the long-con. He was patient and ruthless. He’d strike at the most inconvenient moment. That put her nerves on edge even more. He could attack anytime and what if she wasn’t ready? What if he went after her friends? Her family? She didn’t want to put Kara, Sam, Maggie, and Ruby at risk like that.

Lena pulled out her phone and called Kara for the millionth time that day. It went straight to voicemail again. She really ought to go see Kara. What if something was wrong? What if Fisk already got to her? What if she saw the newspaper and didn’t want to see her anymore? What if she just left? Like everyone left her? Did Kara finally see that Lean wasn’t worth it?

Her breathing quickened and she could hear Sam on the phone. Eve typing. The cars on the street. The flapping of bird wings. Her palms were sweaty. Everything was bright all of a sudden. She placed a hand down on her desk to try and steady herself but it broke and the piece stuck on her hand. Fuck. What was happening to her?

“Boss, your heart rate has accelerated as well as your breathing. It appears you are having a panic attack,” Hope’s concerned voice called from the ceiling. A panic attack? No. She couldn’t have one. She’s a Luthor. Luthors didn't have panic attacks.

A woosh on her balcony caught her attention. Supergirl skidded to a halt and rushed over to Lena’s side.

“Babe, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Supergirl gathered Lena in her arms and noticed the woman was trembling. Nothing seemed out of place except for the broken desk. 

“I can’t do this,” she sobbed. “I can’t lose you guys!” Completely at a loss, Kara brought them over to the couch and held Lena while rubbing her back soothingly.

“Shh, just match your breathing to mine, okay? Can you do that for me, Lena?” Kara didn’t like how fast Lena’s heart was racing. “Slow, deep breaths.”

The alien continued to whisper soothing words into her girlfriend’s ear and Lena calmed down soon enough.

“You haven’t been answering your phone,” Lena mumbled into the Super’s neck.

“Oh, Rao!” Kara cursed herself. “I didn’t charge it last night and I was running late for work this morning and then I had a lead on a story so I forgot all about it. I’m so sorry, Lena. I’ll make sure to have my phone charged next time.” She pressed a kiss to the younger woman’s forehead. “Why didn’t you use the watch?”

In all honesty, Lena had forgotten about it. “I thought you were avoiding me and I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Why would I be avoiding you?” Kara leaned back so she could try and get a glimpse at her girlfriend, but the metahuman was determined on staying hidden. “Babe?” She prompted.

Lena got up and shuffled over to her broken table. She picked up a newspaper and handed it to Kara as she sat on the opposite side of the couch.

“Oh, Lena.” Supergirl walked over and hugged Lena. “I know that’s a bunch of trash. He’s just trying to get under your skin. I know you wouldn’t cheat on me.” She held Lena’s face in her hands so they made direct eye-contact. “I’m a good reporter and I check my sources first. Are you cheating on me?”

“No.”

“Exactly. Let them think whatever they want to think.”

“But, people are going to hate Spider-Woman!” Ah, there it was. Kara knew how much her alter ego meant to her.

“We can take some really cute pictures together later and address the whole thing, okay? Maybe we can take one with your cat friend, too?” Kara knew it was Lena’s ex-girlfriend, had she forgotten that she had made a passing comment about it at the Osborn gala? “We can even invite Felicia to our family dinner tomorrow night.”

“You know?”

“Lee, remember the gala?” The CEO’s face turned crimson. She had forgotten. “I’m not mad or jealous or anything. If she’s still your friend, then I’m okay with that. Maybe this time I can actually introduce myself without being an overprotective girlfriend.”

That, at least, made Lena laugh. “I kind of like when you’re being overprotective,” she admitted.

“Yeah?” Kara pressed another kiss to her forehead. “Are you going to be alright? I kind of dashed out of a meeting with James because your heart rate spiked and I got scared.”

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. I’m sorry for scaring you, I kind of scared myself, honestly.” Lena got up from Supergirl’s lap. “But please go get your phone and charge it.”

“Of course.” The alien stood up as well. “Do you want me to pick up something to eat before I go back to work?”

“No, it’s okay. I’m pretty sure Sam hasn’t eaten yet, so I’ll eat with her.” Lena held her girlfriend’s hand to soak in some comfort. “Thank you for checking on me. I love you, Kara Zor-El.” Kara’s smile turned dopey and lopsided, a blush forming on her cheeks.

“I love you too, Lena Luthor. I promise I’ll have my phone charged as soon as possible. I’ll see you later.”

It was supposed to be a quick parting kiss, but it lasted until Lena gave out first, her lungs still nothing compared to the Kryptonian. She felt much better than she did half an hour ago, but a heavy feeling settled in her chest.

“Hope, keep record of everything Wilson Fisk is doing. I’m not going to let him have the upper hand here.”

“Right away, Boss.”

“So let me get this straight,” Maggie interrupted. All eyes went to her. “You’ve had sex with a criminal who ran an alien fight club, a cat burglar, an assassin, and a alien?”

Lena giggled into her drink. “Well when you put it like that,” she hiccuped. “Sam is like the only normal person I’ve had sex with. I firmly believe Andrea is a psychopath, so congratulations Samantha!” She clinked their cups together and downed the rest of hers.

“Um, thanks?” Sam was the designated driver for the night so she got to witness her friends become drunken messes.

“The real question Maggie should be asking is, who’s the best in the sack? I still bet it’s Kara,” Jess chimed in. “Though, you did say Sara was really good.”

Lena was thankful that there weren’t many people and they had gotten a secluded booth in the back. “Well, Veronica was way back in boarding school and it was good for all of our experiences. Black Cat was pretty good, we had a lot of threesomes and foursomes to spice it up,” she hiccuped again and her friends looked at her incredulously. “But yeah, Kara takes the cake. Her freeze breath and super speed…” she trailed off and the others seemed to catch her drift.

“That sounds hot. I’d like to be in the middle of a Supergirl, Spider-Woman sandwich,” Sam expressed. Lena winked at her and they all howled with laughter.

“Minnesota is like the Walmart version of Canada,” Lena observed.

“What?”

“Minnesota is like the Walmart version of Canada,” she repeated.

“Somehow, that makes sense?” Jess agreed without explanation.

Lena stared at her hand as the people talked. She had big hands. Kara had big hands. Hands. Hands. It didn’t even feel like a word. Hands. Who came up with that word? Why? “The brain named itself.” The conversation stopped as they gaped at her.

“Okay, I think you’ve had enough to drink,” Sam laughed. Lena tried to pour more of her special alcohol into a cup but nothing came out. “Yeah, you have.”

Lena pouted. She didn’t even feel that drunk! Curse her high tolerance. “What if we broke into the zoo? I want to pet a lion. Do you think lions are scared of spiders? I don’t want to scare them.”

“Oh my god, yes! Let’s sneak into the zoo, that sounds amazing. We could take selfies with the animals!” Jess exclaimed.

“Woah, woah. I am far too sober for this. We are not breaking into the zoo!” Sam hissed.

“Let’s go to the beach. Santa Monica?” Maggie suggested. Lena hated bodies of water, but if she were intoxicated enough and with her friends, then it would be alright. Right?

Sam sighed. “It’s almost 10 at night and I left Ruby with Alex. We all have work tomorrow.” It almost pained her being the responsible adult, but someone had to be.

“Come on, Sammy. You’ve always said you’ve wanted to go skinny dipping,” Lena goaded.

“It’s a public beach!”

Maggie grinned. “All the more fun, right?”

“I’ll get us another round of shots before we go!” Jess hopped up and headed towards the bar.

“But Ruby,” Sam tried weakly.

“Alex said she doesn’t mind.” Maggie held up the phone as proof. “She wants to be a mom one day and the kid really likes her. Win-win.”

They ended up going to the beach. Sam sighed as she got on the 1-10 West but soon she started to feel excited. They were going to do something dumb teenagers would do, not something a cop, a CEO, a CFO, and a lab technician would normally do. Somehow, that made her even more giddy.

They ended up at a private beach after Lena came to her senses and said that she didn’t want to risk being caught in public skinny dipping with her friends. Sam parked her car and they snuck past the houses, giggling as they did so. Maggie easily stripped and ran into the freezing water. Jess followed, then Sam, then Lena going in last.

The water stung but they were going to ride it out. They were there to have fun and damnit, they were going to! Jess and Maggie were splashing each other while Lena was shivering. Sam dragged her in deeper and stayed by her side, sensing she was uncomfortable. They played a couple games of marco polo until Lena was complaining of being too cold. They agreed and started to head out when Lena’s ears picked up a faint sound of sirens.

“Do you think we’ll get into a lot of trouble if we get caught?”

“Well let’s see. We trespassed, we’re naked so that’s indecent exposure, we’re intoxicated, and we were probably being really loud. So, yeah, I’d say so,” Maggie listed off.

“Oh. Cops are on their way.” That seemed to wake the girls up. They scrambled out of the water and hurriedly put some clothes on, not really caring who’s it was. Sam got into the car and drove away just as the police were pulling up. She booked it out of there and was thankful she wasn’t pulled over. Jess said she was hungry and Maggie agreed, so the night still went on.

That’s how Lena, Sam, Maggie, and Jess ended up at a Denny’s at midnight, still soaking wet. It was a ridiculous sight and she had no doubt there’d be a couple of gossip magazines taking advantage of that. 

“I love all of you,” Lena professed as she ate her 10th pancake. “You are the bestest friends I could’ve asked for.”

“I love you too!” Jess wrapped her arms around her boss and started crying. “This is the most fun I’ve had since college.”

“Don’t start crying! Cuz then I’ll start crying!” Maggie complained.

“We are such a mess,” Sam exasperated. “But I wouldn’t trade this friendship for the world.”

That caused Lena to cry, then Maggie, and then Sam gave in. Supergirl, who was on patrol, flew over to see what was wrong. Lena was crying while she was out with her friends and she didn’t want to take any chances, especially after what had happened earlier that day. She didn’t expect to see the women to be in a Denny’s, obviously still somewhat drunk, still wet, wearing each other’s clothes, crying while hugging each other.

Supergirl walked into the Denny’s and waved at the employees. It was mostly empty except for three other tables. They would probably think they had some weird fever dream. She stopped at the table where her friends were at. “You guys must have had some night.” She smiled affectionately at her girlfriend. 

“Supergirl!” Lena wiggled out of the group hug to hug the alien. “You are so warm. Stay and eat pancakes with us?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” How could she say no to spending time with her friends and food? Lena felt wet and cold, so Kara wrapped her cape around her. “Did you guys go to the beach? You smell like ocean water.”

Jess sniffled and wiped her face on what Kara was sure was Maggie’s sweater. “Yeah. Sam wouldn’t let us break into the zoo.”

“Oh, sor-ry for being a responsible adult.” Sam crossed her arms. “I didn’t let them break into the zoo, which is highly illegal and would’ve gotten us all arrested, so we went skinny dipping instead.”

“We probably would’ve gotten arrested if it wasn’t for Lena’s super hearing. I feel like my tits fell off. I can’t feel em, they’re so numb,” Maggie mumbled as she drank her hot chocolate.

Before Kara could say anything, a waiter came by asking if she’d like anything. Lena ordered an omelet and the poor boy’s shocked face gave way to the fact that she had been eating her fill. Kara ordered a couple of stacks of pancakes and some french toast. He nodded and walked away.

“Sounds like a heck of a night. Lena definitely needed it.”

So that’s how Supergirl appeared in the newspaper the next day - a wide smile with a peace sign, cape wrapped around Lena Luthor, and Maggie next to Lena while shooting finger guns at the camera. Sam and Jess did their best to duck out of frame, only their bodies could be seen, not their faces. Kara laughed when she saw it and bought two copies. One for her scrapbook she was making for Lena and the other to frame and put in Lena’s kitchen.

It might have been a rocky day, but Kara was grateful for the fact that Lena had made some good friends and was able to have fun with them. They even went to the beach! Kara snuggled into her girlfriend that night and held her securely in her arms while thanking Rao for bringing that wonderful woman in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's currently 3:32 am, that's how long it takes me to actually post a chapter lmao. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it, sorry for the wait!
> 
> Should Black Cat be with Harley and Ivy? I mean the Gotham City Sirens did have Catwoman, but Black Cat is close enough, right? Might even make them poly depending on what y'all say. Completely side note, but my favorite ot3 couple is Kara/Sam/Lena. Gosh, I miss s3 because of Sam.
> 
> Did you catch my references? It's in the Instagram post and one of the twitter ones ;)
> 
> Stay safe everyone! I love everyone and I hope everyone has an amazing day.
> 
> How old do y'all think I am? Just curious. Also, would you want this fic cross-posted on other sites like fanfiction.net and Wattpad? Thoughts on that?
> 
> As always, check out my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/dr_halfblood)! Want to listen to some music? Listen to Spidey!Lena's [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3u4wox2zAJV1uhqZ5TaQ3q). I'm adding a few more songs to it.


	19. Stay Up On That Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Supercorp and SuperSpider fluff. SEE I MADE LENA HAPPY FOR A WHOLE CHAPTER.... it only took me 19 chapters to do it xD
> 
> Lena changed the names in the group chat. Pretty accurate I think
> 
> I'm bad at chapter titles. I'm listening to P!atd rn so that's why the title is what it is haha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update! So sorry for being slow with it. It's driving me crazy how unmotivated I am at times. I will never abandon this story, it's my baby. Though, if it's been like a whole week, go ahead and tell me to update haha
> 
> I have so many fic ideas and I'm like. PLz. Brain. Focus. But I am determined to see this story through. We're only in phase 2 out of 3. Or 4. Not sure yet. Anyway, enjoy

Spider-Woman swung close to the ground in her Iron Spider suit, closing in on the car. With another swing, she landed on the roof.

“Don’t make me pull this car over!” She warned. The driver poked his head out and tried to shoot her. Seriously? She dodged the bullets and shot two webs off to the side. Although she knew the bullet wouldn’t penetrate the suit, her spider-sense went off and she still dodged it. She managed to pull the car thief out and web him to a pole as the car flipped over. On the second flip, she caught it and eased it to the ground. “Hope, let Mags know I caught him. And the car is good to go.”

“Should I mention that the dents are from you?”

Lena rolled her eyes. “Cheeky.” She waved to some on-lookers before deciding she should get to the grocery store. It would take her at least an hour to prepare all the food. She swung to the store where she took Ivy the other day and dropped her transformation once Hope looped the cameras. Adjusting her outfit, she grabbed a shopping cart and walked in.

Once she grabbed the main stuff, she went to the seasoning aisle. What she wanted was on the top shelf. To set the record straight, Lena is not short. She’s actually considered above average both in American and Irish heights. Yet, she couldn’t reach the top shelf. Should she jump? Use a web? Climb it? Go on her tiptoes?

“Excuse me, miss. Having trouble?” Lena turned around to see her girlfriend casually leaning against a shelf.

“How long have you been standing there?”

Kara shrugged. “About a minute.” She easily reached up and grabbed the red seasoning she often saw at Lena’s. “Here you go, ma’am.”

“My hero.” Lena kissed her girlfriend.

“How do you normally reach this? Am I going to have to start shopping with you to reach the stuff you can’t?” Kara teased. Lena backhanded the Kryptonian.

“I thought you weren’t going to be done with work for another half hour?” 

Kara started to push the cart towards the registers. “I may have sped through the last part of my article. It’s a first draft anyway, not like Snapper actually reads it much. Plus, I promised I’d help you make dinner tonight. I even brought bags.” She pointed at the recyclable bags in the cart. Lena smiled.

“Thank you, darling.” She started to put everything on the conveyor belt. “A month ago I wouldn’t even let you near my stove. But look at you now. Kara Danvers, cooking master.” Lena nudged Kara playfully with her elbow.

“Speaking of a month ago! I know you’ll be at L-Corp on Tuesday, but it’s going to officially be one month since we got together, so can you please be done by 7? I have a very romantic evening planned for us.”

Lena blushed when the cashier - Fred - waggled his eyebrows at them. “And how do you know that I didn’t already have plans for us?” She raised an eyebrow. Kara came and hugged her from behind while Fred scanned the items.

“Maggie said you hadn’t mentioned anything.” She felt Kara shrug. “Or do you have something planned?”

Lena leaned into her girlfriend’s body. “No. I’ll be done by 7. I promise.” She wasn’t big on PDA, but she turned her head to kiss the alien’s nose. Fred rang up the total. While she paid, Kara collected the bags.

As they walked out, Lena reached out to grab a bag. Instead, Kara moved all bags to her left to hold Lena’s hand with her right. God, Kara was something else. The walk to her house wasn’t a long one, thankfully. They chatted about their day at work and commented on the dogs they passed.

“Greetings, Boss, Kara,” Hope said as they entered the house. “You’ve been spending a lot of time here, Kara. Are you moving in soon?”

Lena brought her hand to her face in embarrassment. “Two for two today, Hope. You’re on a roll. You and Maggie have got to stop talking to each other,” she laughed, choosing to not look at her girlfriend’s face.

“My apologies.” She sounded anything but apologetic.

Lena emptied the grocery bags as Kara started to boil some water for the rice. Lena turned on some music so they had some background noise to cook too. It went smoothly for the most part, though Kara had been sneaking some food when she thought her girlfriend wouldn’t notice.

(Lena totally noticed)

The metahuman was adding some finishing touches to the food while the alien tidied up outside. Lena had to order another picnic table so everyone could fit. She was surprised at how fast her family was growing, but she honestly didn’t mind one bit. They were a weird bunch - especially with Harley and Ivy now in the picture - but she wouldn’t trade them for the world. They liked Lena for herself, something she didn’t think was possible. Not after what happened with her mom. Not after Lex. A knocking at the door caught her attention.

“Harley, Ivy!” Lena smiled and opened the door wider. “I should have probably warned you that most people don’t actually arrive until 7:30.”

Harley threw herself on Lena and hugged her tightly. “Thank ya so much for inviting us, Lena. I can’t wait to meet all yours friends!” The blonde was bouncing in the spot until she spotted Kara. “Kara!”

“Sorry about her, she’s excited,” Ivy apologized. Lena waved her off and invited her in. “I brought a plant as a thank you gift.”

Kara walked over, with Harley on her back, and gingerly took the plotted plant. “Thank you, Ivy. I know the perfect place to put this.” She then dashed into the living room as Harley cackled.

Before Lena could say anything else, there was another knock. She opened the door and greeted Jess and Pam.

“Hey. You’re not first this time, they beat you to it,” Lena teased. “Ivy, you already know Jess, but this is her girlfriend, Pam. Pam, meet Poison Ivy.”

The young woman from HR looked at the green woman in awe. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, doctor. Jess has told me about your work, and it’s impressive. Very honorable work.” The plant metahuman smirked, clearly pleased with herself.

“Thank y-”

“Lena!” Kara screamed and clambered into the room. She held a small potted plant, Harley securely on her shoulders this time. “5 months.” Everyone looked at Lena in confusion. She was just as lost. “You watched me water this for FIVE months! It’s fake!” It took a second, but the house owner found herself laughing.

“Kara, my love,” she started. “You’re the one who bought it. Remember?” The flush on her face gave away that she did not remember. The young Gotham girl shrieked in laughter and Ivy found herself laughing as well.

“Your girlfriend really is something else,” a voice mused from behind her. Lena didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

“I really ought to change the locks.” She crossed her arms. Felicia came from behind and draped herself over Lena’s shoulder.

“You know that wouldn’t stop me,” the thief purred. The Spider elbowed her.

“Stop it.” She cleared her throat. “This is Felicia Hardy. An old friend from college. This is Jess, she’s the one who I promoted. Her girlfriend, Pam. You’ve met Kara.” Felicia playfully waved at the alien. “That’s Harley and this is Ivy.” She had shaken everyone’s hand, excluding Kara, and her eyes lingered on both Gotham girls.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you all.” Black Cat smiled at the group. “I’m raiding your fridge for some booze.” Then she strolled into the kitchen.

“Sorry about her. She’s eccentric.”

“I heard that!”

Kara straightened as the woman jumped off of her and went to talk to Jess. The lab technician had a little trouble keeping up with her rapid talk but that didn’t seem to bother Harley at all.

The door swung open and Maggie swaggered in with a dimply smile “Sup bitches! I’m here now, so the party can get started!”

“Maggie!” Alex hissed in embarrassment. “You can’t just barge into her house like that!”

“Oh, please.” She handed a bag of snacks to Kara with a meaningful wink. “Are they really your best friend if you don’t enter their house like that?”

“I wish I could say this was the first time she’s done this, Agent Danvers. Maybe I should revoke your key privileges,” she threatened. Maggie knew she was bluffing.

“What, you really think that I didn’t make a spare in case you did?” She walked over to Lena and gave her a side hug while everyone watched. “Plus, we’ve seen each other naked, Little Luthor, so I feel like that has to mean something.” God, Lena was going to murder her.

“Wait, what?” Alex stopped her journey from the kitchen to place the other snack bags down. 

“Oh, I like her,” Harley declared. “Hiya, I’m Harley Quinn. Nice to meet ya,” she stuck her hand out.

“Maggie Sawyer.” They shook hands. Lena felt a sense of dread overcome her. No way would they be able to stay out of trouble.

“Wait, what’s this about seeing each other naked?” Alex tried again. Taking pity on her sister, Kara went over to explain the Holy Trinity and Mother Theresa’s latest escape.

“Maggie Sawyer,” Felicia said as she drank from a beer bottle. She really loved slinking in the shadows, didn’t she? “It’s nice to finally meet you. For a cop, you are pretty rambunctious.”

Lena groaned. “This crossover is going to kill me, I swear to God.” Ivy gave her a funny look and she heard Kara laugh from the kitchen. Speaking up, she said, “Sam and her people should be here soon. Go ahead and mingle outside. I’ll bring the food out once everyone is here.”

Maggie, Felicia, and Harley walked out, talking animatedly. That was surely nothing but trouble. Pam, Alex, and Kara followed, probably gossiping about people at the DEO. Jess and Ivy sat on the couch talking about work. Jess would spend half her time at L-Corp working with Peter and the other half working with Ivy at the lab.

5 minutes later, a knock came indicating Sam and her posse had arrived. 

“Hey, Sammy.” She gave the taller woman a hug. “Harry.” A fist-bump. “And my favorite niece.” Ruby jumped in her arms. Lena laughed and moved back to allow the other two to enter as the preteen clung onto her.

“You can blame Harry for our tardiness,” Sam ratted her boyfriend out. “But I brought drinks as promised.”

“Everyone’s already outside. I’ll be there soon.” Ruby hopped off and snatched the SunnyD before running outside to share with Kara. It had become their thing where they chugged to see who could win (Kara only let her win half the time).

Harry playfully glared at the CFO. “My father wanted to show me something,” he defended.

“Oh?” Lena raised her eyebrow. Norman hardly ever paid attention to his son, much less show him anything. “Do tell.”

“Well, you know how he’s working with the doctor on cross mutation?” Harry asked as he followed Lena into the kitchen. She nodded. “His first experiment is going to be on a scorpion. He wanted to show them to me, he’s got like five different kinds in glass cages. It’s kinda freaky.”

“A scorpion?” Lena lifted a tray and motioned for Harry to help carry the food out. “I thought the whole reason he was starting these experiments was so it could help the human race or something. To be honest, I didn’t listen to his sales pitch. It’s foolish of him to try and play God.”

“I don’t know, Lena.” Harry was almost as against the idea as Lena was. They set the food down and went inside for another trip, Kara accompanying them to help. “To be honest, he’s been holed up on his personal floor lab a lot. I see him come and go, but he won’t even allow me in there. Wonder what he’s doing.”

“Nothing to cause trouble, I hope.” She picked up another tray and smiled when Kara got whatever was left over. “A reporter is snooping around Oscorp. If your father is up to something, he’ll be caught before it escalates.”

“Ugh, reporters,” Harry pouted. Kara let out an indignant scoff. “Not you, of course. I think you’re cool! Real neat. A fine reporter. Cool, even. I-”

“Just stop, Harry,” Lena teased the boy. He blushed but Kara assured him she wasn’t actually offended. They put the rest of the food down and she told everyone to dig in.

At one table sat Sam, Lena, and Ivy with Harry, Ruby, and Kara across from them. The other table had Alex, Maggie, and Felicia with Pam, Jess, and Harley across.

“So you’re Harry Osborn,” Ivy spoke up as she looked across the table. Her green eyes bore into his brown ones. The people at the table (except for Ruby who didn’t know better) sat with bated breath to see how this exchange would play out.

“Yeah. And you’re Poison Ivy.” He smiled kindly.

“Lena has told me a lot about you. Your work with L-Corp on renewable energy and scientific research is admirable. I respect that you’re doing your part in helping the planet.” There was a collective sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Dr. Isley,” Harry said sincerely. That was the highest compliment ever given to him in his opinion. “Lena has also told me about the work you are doing. From what little she’s allowed me to glimpse, I have to say I’m excited to see the outcome. Perhaps one day in the future we may collaborate together.”

Ivy laughed. She found Harry to be very amusing. “Perhaps.” And that was that.

Dinner was enjoyable. Ruby had asked Ivy about her powers and listened with rapt attention on her spill about how the Earth is dying and it needs help. Kara was even nodding along rapidly, agreeing whole-heartedly with what the doctor was saying.

“I already lost one planet because we didn’t take care of it. I’d hate to see that happen to Earth.” A shadow flickered over the Kryptonian’s face. “If you need Supergirl to send a message, I can help with that. My knowledge on Earth science is a bit rusty, but I would be more than happy to help you with any projects if need be.”

“I might take you up on that offer. Not many people can be in radioactive places like we can.”

“And I’ll make sure to tell my friends all about this. Hey, have you ever thought about getting a Twitter, Ivy? Because I think…” Ruby ranted and Lena had to stifle a laugh. Poison Ivy was not fond of the 21st century or the technology it had to offer. She nodded along politely anyway.

All of a sudden, Harley whipped around and called, “Pam-a-lamb, I’ve got a super-serious, very important question to ask you. And you have to take it seriously because I really wanna know, okay?” 

“Course, Harl. What is it?” Lena noticed Maggie trying not to laugh and Alex shaking her head.

“Since you’re a doctor, what happens if you eat an apple?”

Pam’s lips twitched. She was obviously trying not to smile. “I’m not that kind of doctor, so I don’t know, honey.”

“Oh.” She nodded as if that made perfect sense. “I’m still not going to eat any apples though. Just in case.” She then swung her legs around and launched into a conversation with Felicia about her time as princess of crime in her home city.

“Hey, Mom.” Ruby waited until her mother looked at her. “Can I dye my hair like Harley’s?”

Sam pursed her lips in contemplation. “I don’t know kiddo. Only people on team Spider-Woman can dye their hair,” she teased. Kara rolled her eyes but with a smile. This debate was one of their favorites.

“But moooom!” Ruby pouted. “You’re only team Spider because you slept with her.” She crossed her arms defiantly. Lena’s eyes bulged and she practically felt her friend bristle next to her.

“Ruby Samantha Arias,” Sam snapped. Oh boy. “You do not speak to your mother like that, young lady. No dessert for a week.”

“Fine, whatever.” She abruptly stood up. “Can I watch tv in your living room, Aunt Lena?”

“We’ll all be inside soon, so how about you watch the tv in my room, okay?” The girl nodded and stomped inside the house.

“You slept with Spider-Woman? Isn’t she dating Supergirl?” Harry asked.

“Yeah. Uh. Well, umm.” Sam looked at Lena desperately. Lena then looked at Kara who had the same panicked expression. “Lena introduced us and well, uh. Supergirl knows?” Harry was about to ask something else but Lena interrupted before he could.

“I need to talk to Sam real quick. Babe?” Kara nodded. She would clean up and offer to have everyone pile into the living room to chill before they left. Lena pulled the oldest Arias off to the side and grabbed a beer for both of them. “So, what was that about?”

Lena popped the caps off and watched as Sam took a long drink. “She’s upset that she has to spend her summer vacation with a babysitter in a new city. She says she hates the sitter, but I can’t exactly keep changing them for her. And we haven’t really had the time to explore the city or anything and I’ve been coming home pretty late - which is not your fault, don’t start. I love my job and I love being able to help you. She’s just upset she doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with me.” She took another drink. “And now that I’m dating Harry, she feels left out. She likes Harry, but me with him means less time with her. So she’s starting to act out.”

Lena remembered that feeling of loneliness and feeling like her family didn’t want her (which was half true), but at least she had Lex to make her feel welcomed. Ruby was an only child and she didn’t have friends her age yet since they just moved here.

“I’ll be letting Eve know to kick you out of the office if you stay past 5:30,” Lena informed. It was only an hour difference but it was a start. “As for her loneliness…” she thought about it. “I can take her to the lab with me at least once a week. I’ve got a couple of projects I’m working on, but I’m sure she’ll have fun in the lab. As for the sitter problem, Felicia and Harley are unemployed. I trust Felicia with a child, I’m not too sure about Harley, but it’s a possibility.”

“Harley Quinn, babysitting my daughter?” Sam smirked. “Not the weirdest thing to happen. I’ll ask her and Felicia if they’re interested.”

“Great.” She could still sense that Sam was feeling bad. “How about we go to Disneyland next weekend like I promised when you first moved here? The whole nine yards?”

Sam smiled at that. “Let’s save that for her birthday. A family trip to the zoo would be nice, though.”

“Let’s make a road trip out of it. We drive down to San Diego on Friday, go to the zoo Saturday, spend some time sight-seeing. On Saturday we can go to the safari park before coming back. What do you say?” Lena could use a mini-vacation too if she was honest.

“Can Supergirl and Spider-Woman leave?” The metahuman watched as the people started to shuffle inside.

“I’ll have Hope run patrol and if it’s something dire, Jess can take care of it, I’m sure. We’re only going to be two hours away, Supergirl can be here in minutes if need be.” She’d need to ask Kara if it was okay, but she was sure the alien would be delighted to go.

“Sounds like a plan.” They finished their beers and headed inside.

“I’ll go check on Ruby. You’ll talk to Felicia and Harley?” The CFO nodded. Lena walked to her room and knocked lightly on the door. She heard Ruby grunt and took that as an invitation. “Hey, Rubes. What are you watching?” She gestured for the girl to scoot over and hopped up next to her.

“Scooby-doo.” She paused the show and looked at Lena. “Is Mom really mad at me? Are you mad at me?”

Lena patted the top of Ruby’s head in what she hoped was a calming gesture. “I’m not mad at you and neither is your mom. I understand you’re upset with your mom’s hours and not being able to spend a lot of time with her, but you can’t say things like that. For one, Harry doesn’t know I’m Spider-Woman. And two, you can’t just expose her in front of everyone like that. It wasn’t very cash money of you.” She playfully nudged the little girl to show she wasn’t upset.

“I’m sorry, Lena. I didn’t think that it might’ve put your secret identity at risk.”

“Just don’t do it again, okay? A lot of people already know and I can’t stand the thought of my family getting hurt because of me. When you start school, you can’t use knowing the superheroes as clout, okay? Kara and I both have powerful enemies that can use you to get to us. I know you’re smart enough to keep it low-key.” She squeezed Ruby’s hand.

“I’ll be more careful, I promise.”

“I know. Are you ready to go apologize to your mom?”

“After this episode? It’s only got ten more minutes left. I think the shopkeeper is the villain in disguise.”

“Deal.”

Ten minutes passed and it was the shopkeeper under the mask. Ruby cheered to herself and said she was ready to say sorry. When they made it to the living room, Jess, Pam, Alex, and Maggie had left already.

“Spider-Woman would be lucky to have a chance with Black Cat,” Felicia joked as she winked at Kara.

“Oh, totally,” Kara played along. “I bet they’re out there right now having their secret affair.”

“You two are insufferable,” Lena complained as she plopped onto the couch next to her girlfriend. “I hate that stupid article. I wish you could block someone in real life.”

“A restraining order,” Ivy suggested the same time Harley blurted, “Murder!” They all turned and gave her meaningful looks.

“Kidding, kidding! Yeesh.” She pouted then mumbled, “mostly.”

At 10:30, Sam had announced that she, Ruby, and Harry were heading out. Not long after, Pam and Harley left.

“Did you bring your costume?” Lena asked after she closed the door.

“Duh. Let’s get this over with. I’m planning on stealing from Mr. Lord again,” Felicia cheered. “For someone so smart, he didn’t change his locks after last time.”

Kara tilted her head as she looked at Felicia. “How do you sleep at night?”

“On silk sheets, rolling in money,” Black Cat intoned. “I’ll change real quick so we can take your stupid picture.” She grabbed her bag and stalked off towards the bathroom.

It had been Kara’s idea to take a picture of Black Cat, Supergirl, and Spider-Woman together to show that they were all friends (mostly true) and that Spidey was not having an affair.

Once they went out and took the picture, the superhero couple slipped back into Lena’s house. They decided to watch one episode of Supernatural together before passing out.

Lena spent most of her morning sparring with Kara at their new hideout. Although she had taken lessons from Maggie, Lena was still struggling against the Kryptonian. To be fair, Kara had a lot of experience and trained with Alex. Lena relied on her spider-sense and luck half the time.

“I’m beat.” Lena was sprawled out on the ground covered in sweat. “How have I survived this long?”

Kara laughed and laid down next to her partner. “Adrenaline? Your spider-sense?” She took her girlfriend’s hand and laced their fingers together. “You must get scared sometimes being out there. Being vulnerable.”

“Sometimes,” Lena admitted. “Especially in the beginning when I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“Does this still count as the beginning?” 

Lena snickered and kicked her lightly. “I’m figuring things out. I made some awesome suits and gadgets to help me stay alive and I’m getting a lot of experience. And I’ve got some amazing people watching my back.”

“True.” They stayed on the floor for a bit, enjoying each other’s presence. “How about we shower and get some Chinese?”

“Sounds good.”

After they ate, they went their separate ways. Kara and Winn were going to hang out and Lena decided on working on glasses and contacts. It was much bigger of a pain than she thought it’d be.

She spent Sunday working from home. She read over everything James sent her and sent her feedback. She honestly didn’t know how Kara could stand looking at articles on her laptop all day. Her eyes were killing her! She was about to work on L-Corp stuff until Hope reminded her that she needed to eat lunch. Knowing that if she didn’t the AI would call one of her friends, Lena trudged to the kitchen and made two sandwiches. At 8, she gave up at staring at her screen and went on patrol.

There wasn’t much going on for a Sunday night, so she took a stroll through the park and had small talk with the pedestrians. Supergirl joined her about an hour in and they walked hand-in-hand, stopping to take photos with people nearby.

“Maybe you and Lena should go on a date sometime.” Spider-Woman squeezed Supergirl’s hand. “Or maybe I should take Kara swinging sometime.”

Supergirl rolled her eyes. “Maybe I’ll take Kara on a date. After all, I’ve known her longer.”

“Let’s do a double date,” Lena compromised. There were people nearby who could be eavesdropping. “Us and Kara and Lena.”

“Why? I like to keep them all to ourselves.” Supergirl winked at a guy up ahead. He had a phone out and was recording them.

“Yeah you do,” Spidey laughed as she nudged her girlfriend playfully. “Do you like the new suit?”

“I love it! The pants are amazing. I also like the amount of detail you put into it. The new accents are cool and thank Rao for whatever material this is. I accidentally spilled chili beans on it - I was flying while eating a chili cheese dog - and it just came right off! I didn’t need to scrub it for long or anything. Not to mention how easy it is to change in and out of the suit. My shirts are safe thanks to you, babe,” the Super gushed. She leaned over to kiss the Spider on the cheek.

“A little birdy told me about how often you spill food on yourself because you try to eat and fly, so I took that into account when the suit was made. Good to know it paid off.” She swung their arms and waved at a child passing by. “I have to say, your thighs look good in the suit. I should’ve given you pants a long time ago.”

The alien faltered in her step. “Babe,” she chastised.

“All I’m saying is that I understand why there are stan accounts for you. I might have one myself. They manage to get some pretty good pictures of you,” she thought aloud. It was kind of absurd how well the pictures were. Better than the news sometimes. There are even some pictures of Spider-Woman that she questioned how they were taken.

“Have you read the fanfiction?”

“There’s fanfiction about Supergirl?” It honestly shouldn’t be that much of a shock to Lena. Of course there would be Supergirl fanfiction.

Supergirl chuckled. “Of course. There’s even Spider-Woman fanfiction, too. There’s a lot of fics about you and I. And of course about you, me, Lena, and Kara.” She then whispered, “those are my favorite because it’s interesting to see what people come up with.”

“And you know about this how?” Lena raised her eyebrow on instinct and she knew Kara sensed the movement despite the mask.

“Kara’s friend, Winn, sends some to her. Maggie sends me the rated M ones.” Lena’s curiosity was piqued. How come no one sent her fanfiction?

Spider-Woman stopped and went on her tiptoes to speak into her girlfriend’s ear so no one else could hear. “How about we go back to your place and act out some of the explicit ones. A little bit of foreplay, eh?” Supergirl nodded quickly, a tinge of red on her face. She wrapped her arms around the Spider and flew into the night sky.

Monday morning had them both stumbling to get ready. They had stayed up reading even after their activities. Lena borrowed one of Kara’s button-downs and was thankful she had some slacks and dress shoes at her girlfriend’s. It was a little too casual for her taste, but she didn’t want to go all the way home to be picky about an outfit. They stopped at Noonan’s briefly to get some coffee and breakfast before booking it to CatCo.

The day was spent in a haze of articles and meetings, something Lena was not fond of. Most of CatCo had no problem with her in charge, but there were some people who were being extremely difficult with her. Kara’s presence was almost not enough to placate her. Almost. When Lena was frustrated, she would look up from her desk and Kara’s eyes would find hers. The blonde would make silly faces to try and cheer the CEO up and it worked like a charm. She had to stop herself from laughing out loud a couple of times.

Lena left a little after 7 to have dinner with the Arias family. With her new schedule, she was going to have dinner with Sam on Tuesday’s and go home with Kara on Monday’s and Wednesday’s if there weren’t any emergencies. Since she was going to be with her girlfriend on Tuesday, she went with Sam on Monday.

“We made pizza!” Ruby cheered when Lena opened the door.

“Hello to you too.” Lena entered the house and her stomach rumbled when she smelt the pizza. “Smells good.” They went into the kitchen where Sam and Harry were cutting the pizzas.

“Hey, Lena. Glad you could make it!” They shared a hug. “We’re not professional chefs like you are, so don’t judge us too hard.”

Lena snorted. “I’m not a professional. The chefs taught me when I was younger and Harry and I took a few cooking classes together, no big deal.”

Ruby stopped setting the table. “You can take classes on cooking?!” She practically shouted in disbelief.

“That’s right.” Harry grabbed a wine bottle and gestured for everyone to sit down. “There are classes for almost everything. Cooking, drawing, music. I’ve taken communication classes where all you have to do is talk in front of a classroom on any topic. There are even classes where you watch movies and talk about them. Sky’s the limit with college,” he finished.

“Woah, college sounds like so much fun!” Ah, the innocence. College was a nightmare, but Lena was not about to crush her dreams. It seemed like Sam was having similar thoughts.

“Your mom told me that Harley babysat you today. How was that?” Lena was genuinely curious as to how that went. Sam had cameras set up all around the house and she had been checking them almost constantly to make sure both people were still alive and the house intact.

Ruby was bouncing in her seat as her mother served her. “It was sooo much fun! We were doing a lot of arts and crafts. I was trying to teach her how to cut snowflakes and she was trying to teach me origami. We both kinda failed so we ended up drawing and coloring for a while. Can you believe that she didn’t know what Vine was! I’m so grateful I have the playlists I sent you saved. She found a lot of them funny so that’s what we did for the rest of the day,” she rambled.

“I give it a day until Ivy comes for you,” Lena bet.

Sam groaned. “God, I hope not.”

They bantered a bit more and the metahuman was glad to see that Ruby’s mood had been way better than Friday. She got a babysitter she had fun with and was able to make dinner with her mom and Harry. She even got to spend time with her favorite aunt.

After dinner, they watched the first Shrek movie (Lena was shocked by how much she actually enjoyed it. She did not cry no matter how much Ruby says otherwise). When it was over, she called it a night and headed home, not even wanting to go on patrol for the night. 

Before she went to bed, she went into the lab to put some finishing touches on Kara’s gift. She took it into her room and set her alarm for 6 am.

She woke up, got ready quickly, then swung over to Kara’s apartment. The superhero was still asleep so Lena took that as her chance to get breakfast started. Just as she was pouring the syrup like she knew Kara liked on a stack, the alien floated into the kitchen.

“This is a nice surprise,” she murmured. Kara wrapped Lena into a tight embrace and kissed her. “You even put chocolate chips in them!” She exclaimed.

Lena smiled. She put a stack of pancake (sans chocolate chips) on her plate. “You do say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” She watched Kara greedily scoff down the breakfast.

“It’s true,” she said once she finished what was in her mouth. “I guess this makes up for not being able to see you until later.”

“I also got you a little something.” Lena pulled out a small, long box. Kara looked at it curiously before carefully undoing the tie and opening the lid.

“You got me pens!” The blonde took out four silver pens. “And they’ve got puns on them! ‘ _ I can’t get you out of my headline _ ’,” she snickered. “‘ _ You’ve got more style than the AP _ . Lena, these are amazing.”

“The best part is that they’re made of nth metal so you can’t crush them accidentally.” She figured it was something small that Kara would use every day and the puns would hopefully bring a smile to her face.

“These are so cool. You made me pens! I didn’t even have an  _ ink _ ling about what you were going to get me,” she winked.

“I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. I was  _ write _ in thinking you’d love them.”

Kara chuckled as she finished the rest of her breakfast. “I can’t wait to take you out later.” She was doing her best not to spoil the surprise. “Let me get changed and I’ll take you to work?” Lena nodded and watched her little alien zip around the apartment to get ready. Lena may have been faster than the average human, but she was still nowhere near Kara’s speed. She would trade her venom fangs for it if she could.

The CEO spent an hour in a meeting with the board and had three international conference calls. She was extremely grateful for Maggie and Sam’s Spanish lessons, she was improving immensely. Though, she tended to mix up and switch into Italian or Portuguese when she was frustrated. 

“Ms. Luthor?” Eve’s voice brought Lena back to reality.

“Yes, Eve?” She shuffled some papers on her desk to at least try and make it seem like she was working.

“Mr. Li is ready to see you.” Crap, she had totally forgotten about that. “Do you want me to send him in five minutes when you’re done with your phone call?” Lena smiled. Eve may not be Jess, but she was a hell of a good assistant.

“Yes, please.” The perky blonde nodded and shut the office door. Lena scrambled for her notes on FEAST and the questions she was going to ask Martin. It had only been a week since the homeless shelter was opened, but she wanted to know what was working, what wasn’t, how everything was running. She had just finished composing herself when he walked in. “Martin Li, it’s a pleasure seeing you again.”

He smiled and shook her hand. “To you as well. After testifying against your brother, I went into hiding back home in China. I was surprised when you were able to find me and offer me a job,” he admitted.

“Is it really called going into hiding when I knew where you were the whole time?” Lena smirked and poured a glass of water for herself. “I wanted to offer you a job at L-Corp once we were settled in National City, but I saw you were working with rehabilitating juveniles. That’s why when I came up with the idea of FEAST, you were the first person to come to mind. You have strong morals, are a good judge of character, and want to help others.” She didn’t give compliments out to just anybody, but it was all true. 

“Thank you, Ms. Luthor.” The man smiled kindly at her. “I’m grateful for the opportunity. May Parker is such a lovely woman to work with and the community accepted me with open arms. In fact…” They spoke business for a little less than an hour until Lena was satisfied with what they discussed. Once he left, she told Eve to schedule a meeting with the head of her children’s hospital. She could arrange a meet and greet with Spider-Woman.

The rest of her workday went by without a hitch. It involved looking over reports and she even popped in on the R&D floor to get updates on the projects that were going on. She was very pleased.

At exactly 7:00, a pair of boots landed softly on L-Corp’s balcony.

“Just finishing up this email, love. One sec,” Lena called over her shoulder as she typed furiously. A minute later, she was shutting everything off and letting Eve know she was leaving so the assistant could go home.

“I brought you this coat. Where we’re going, well, it’s going to be chilly.” Supergirl handed Lena her fake fur coat and she shrugged it on. She was excited as to where they’d be going.

The Arctic was not where Lena thought they’d be going. She curled into Kara to try and gain some extra warmth. Her inner spider was not happy with the temperature.

“I’m going to put you down real quick.” Supergirl set Lena down in front of a giant door that was made of ice. Actually, looking at what was in front of her, it seemed like there was a buildingish made of ice. She was about to question Kara about it when the alien picked up a gold key and opened the door. “Welcome to the Fortress of Solitude! It’s a little piece of Krypton on Earth.”

Seeing as she was in heels, Lena grasped Kara’s arm so she didn’t slip and slide all over the place. “You just leave the key in plain sight?”

“It’s made from a dwarf star and it weighs about a million tons. I bet even you’d have trouble lifting it.”

“Intruder. Intruder.” A wall of ice surrounded Lena. “Luthor DNA detected. L protocol engaged.” Lena, already cold as it was, starting to freeze and panic.

“Uh, Kara?” She turned to her girlfriend who was just as confused.

“L protocol? Hold on.” Supergirl dashed over to a control panel and started typing away even after the ice shield was deactivated. “I didn’t know Superman had that in place, I’m so sorry.” She looked at Lena. “Do you want my cape as a blanket?”

“Did you say blanket?” A robot came into view holding one. “All the preparations are set, Kara Zor-El.”

Supergirl took it and handed it to Lena. “You knew we were coming, why didn’t you warn me about the Fortress’s defense against her?”

“My apologies, Kara. Kal-El gave me orders not to mess with it.”

Lena wrapped herself tightly in the blanket as she watched them bicker. “I take it you haven’t told Clark we’re together then?”

Kara wrung her hands. “Not yet. But, hey! This is Kelex.” She gestured to the robot.

“Caretaker, android, mark 4, with many other functions,” it introduced. “And you must be Lena Luthor.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Kelex.” She was intrigued as to what else the Fortress had. What other parts of Krypton were there? She wanted to learn as much as she could about her girlfriend’s home planet to keep the memory alive.

“How about dinner, then I'll give you a grand tour of the place?” Kara offered.

“Sounds like a plan,” Lena agreed.

“I made some mac’n’cheese for us tonight. It’s a recipe that I’ve mastered and felt the most comfortable with.”

“It sounds amazing, dear.”

Supergirl led them into a room that was thankfully warmer than the rest of the place. A dinner table with two plates already served was present alongside two cups with what was presumingly Sunny-D.

“Kal’s parents sent this with him in his pod,” she started to explain as they sat down. “He has learned about some of our planet’s history and the language, though he’s terrible at it. Don’t tell him I said that, though!”

“When would I ever have a conversation with your cousin?” She laughed lightly. “Does he really view me the same way he sees Lex?”

“No,” Kara said fiercely. “He’s just cautious is all. And a bit wary. But I promise he’ll warm up to you! He’ll see how amazing and not evil you are.”

“Next time I’m in Metropolis for work, I should invite him for coffee then.”

“Yes! Oh, we can have a double date and you can meet Lois! She’s super sweet despite her public persona,” Kara promised. “But, I think you’ll have to meet Eliza first. She’s been asking to meet you and I keep coming up with excuses.”

Lena choked on her food. “Eliza wants to meet me? Like, your foster mother Eliza?” Realistically, she knew it would have to happen at some point. But actually doing it?

“Babe, she loves you already. It’s a formality more than anything. Alex, Maggie, and I were planning on going to Midvale soon anyways, you can come with us!” Kara looked so pleased at the idea that Lena agreed to tag along, even if her stomach was rolling with anxiety.

She could do it. She could meet Eliza. It was no problem. Nope. After dinner, Kara took Lena on a tour of the Fortress. Superman kept a lot of knickknacks around from battles he’s won and she even spotted the infamous Myriad. The vastness was a bit daunting along with the cold temperature. Having a higher body temperature must be a blessing.

“Hey, Kara?” Lena asked as they lay in bed. Their naked bodies were intertwined and the alien’s heartbeat was still quick.

“Hmm?”

“I love learning about Krypton and the history, but I was wondering…” she bit her lip. Was this asking too much? “I was wondering if you could teach me Kryptonese?”

Kara pushed herself up and stared at Lena with an unreadable expression. “You want to learn Kryptonese?” She asked just in case she didn’t hear right.

“Yeah. If you want to teach me.” Lena reached up and brushed some hair out of the blonde’s face. “I want to learn all about your culture, even the language. It’s what makes you, you, Kara Zor-El.” She loved how the name felt on her tongue.

“Of course I’ll teach you.” She had a dopey, lopsided grin, her eyes sparkling. “It is an alien language, so don’t get frustrated with yourself. It’s going to be a challenge and I promise it’s going to feel weird trying to pronounce stuff. Alex knows a few phrases but that’s about it.”

“You should know I’m too stubborn to give up.” She pulled Kara down next to her. “I love you, Kara Zor-El. With all my heart.”

Kara kissed Lena and smiled at how  _ right _ it felt. “I love you too, Lena Luthor.”

Kara drifted off to sleep feeling surprisingly light even though visits to the Fortress often made her homesick. It was probably because she was at her new home now, with Lena who wanted to learn all there was to learn about her in her arms. For the first time in a long time, Kara didn’t feel the burden of her planet’s destruction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hinted at a future villain in this chapter, did you catch who it is? ;) THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE LOVE AND SUPPORT. I am still blown away by how many people like this story. Thank you for sticking along this far.
> 
> I've noticed that I use "Plus" and "Perhaps" a lot throughout this fic. Take a shot of water every time you see those words. Should I cross-post this on Wattpad/Fanfic.net?
> 
> Everyone thought I was way older and I'm actually flattered. I'll be 19 in September (Virgos wya). Maybe it's my experiences with drinking that make you think I'm older. All the characters are like in their late 20's and I really hope I'm writing them that way cuz idk what it's like adulting or running a company or being a superhero.
> 
> I have some other works in the miraculous ladybug fandom if anyone is interested. I promise they are worst than this :)
> 
> The references last chapter were Ben Warren from Grey's Anatomy commenting on the firefighter Instagram post and the Twitter one was a reference to this kid from Danny Phantom, Wes Weston. If you know, you know.
> 
> STAY SAFE everyone plz. I honestly can't believe people are outside protesting but natural selection I guess. I love every single one of you and I'll see you next chapter :)
> 
> Be sure to talk to me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked) if you're bored. Send me requests, questions, whatever. I'm bored. Here's my [twitter](https://twitter.com/dr_halfblood) that I barely use, but have! Wanna listen to some music? Check out this [spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3u4wox2zAJV1uhqZ5TaQ3q). Stay safe everyone!


	20. Oh, Rao

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family fluff in the first half. Not so family fun in the second.
> 
> Drink water every time you smile. I dare you.
> 
> ****Maggie and Alex are engaged btw. I think I mentioned it one time and never brought it up again so I'm saying it now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting the posting process at 2:10 am. Since I'm posting this so late, I'm telling you rn the chapter is like 12k words and it ends on a cliffhanger. So go to sleep and read when you wake up, you heathens that are up at this ungodly hour as I am.
> 
> (Think about what zodiac signs you think the characters are or their birthdays I need help with that Thank You)

“Come on, Lena. Ruby and Kara are getting antsy waiting for us,” Sam complained. She had been waiting on the couch for over 20 minutes and it was nearing 6. They had promised the kids they’d be home by 6.

“Wrapping up this email. Super important. Possible investors.” Lena was typing away at the computer as fast as she could. She wouldn’t put it past Kara to fly over to check on. “Okay, let me clean up.”

The two exited L-Corp and drove to Lena’s house. Kara was already speeding out with the luggage and putting it in the trunk of Sam’s Honda.

“Finally!” Ruby sassed as she walked out. “Why can’t Kara just fly us there?”

Lena chuckled as she switched into the driver’s seat and Sam in the backseat. “Because they can’t use their powers for things like that, kiddo,” Sam chided her child. “Plus, I think it’ll be fun. All of us singing in the car, playing I spy.”

Kara finished packing the car. “I don’t know, Sam. I would rather fly us and the car there, too. Imagine all the food San Diego has to offer. The sooner we get there, the sooner the vacation starts.”

“I’ve been waiting all week for this. Believe it or not, I actually like driving. I don’t get to drive as much anymore when I can swing everywhere and get dropped off via Supergirl.” She started the engine. “I’m barely okay with flying with just Kara, there’s no way I’ll feel okay with her flying with the car.”

“Alright, alright,” Ruby relented. “Can we get some food for the road?”

“Big Belly Burger?”

“Big Belly Burger,” everyone agreed.

It was 2 hours of singing along to the radio and Lena occasionally cursing, that they finally arrived in San Diego. Lena pulled up to the hotel, the Pendry, and went to check-in. As she came out, a bellhop boy and a valet driver followed her.

“Be sure to have the car here by 7:30 a.m.,” Lena told the man as she handed the keys to him.

“Of course, Ms. Luthor. Enjoy your night.”

The group walked into the hotel and Kara was looking around in awe. She grasped onto her girlfriend’s hand so she didn’t accidentally drift away as she looked around. Was this place really a hotel? It was massive! Lena opened the door and motioned for everyone to wait outside as she went inside.

Lena opened every door and scoped for any listening bugs or bombs. She checked under all the beds and behind the curtains and found nothing suspicious. Her spider-sense didn’t go off either, so that was a bonus. She went and opened the door.

“All clear.”

“Did you just check the rooms for explosives?” Kara asked.

“Yes. I had a close call in Vancouver once and since then, I make sure to check the rooms just in case.”

Ruby ran around and looked into each of the rooms. “This place is so huge! Can I have this room? Cool, thanks!”

“I could have checked for explosives, babe. What if there really was something in here?” Kara swept the floor quickly just to double-check. “Yeah, it’s all clear. Also, can I just say that this place is totally awesome?”

“Amen to that!” Sam agreed from the couch. “Perks of being a badass CEO.”

Lena rolled her eyes and joined her friend on the couch. “How about we get some room service and for breakfast we go into the city?”

“How about you order room service and I take a quick flight around the city? I’ll scope out places we can eat tomorrow!” Lena chuckled at her girlfriend’s enthusiasm.

“As long as you stay out of trouble.”

Kara jumped in place with joy. She dramatically whipped her glasses off and was in the air as the suit was materializing. Being in the car for a long time must have given her a lot of anxiety. Lena would let Kara fly back home if she really wanted to. The door knocking brought Lena out of her musings. She took the luggage from the bellboy and tipped him a $100 bill.

“So what’s for dinner?” Sam grabbed a menu and started flipping through it. “Craving anything? Flies? Crickets?”

“Ha, ha,” Lena deadpanned. “Maybe I should leave you at the zoo tomorrow. You’d blend right in with the chimpanzees.” She stuck her tongue out.

“If anyone is being left behind at a zoo, it’s you, Daddy Longlegs,” Sam pointed out. Then, after a second, she stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. The two adults continued to make faces at each other when Ruby walked in.

“And I’m supposed to be the child,” she exasperated. She then jumped in between them. “Where’s Kara?

As if she was listening in, the window flew open and Supergirl skidded into the room. “Lena, Lena! There’s a pool on the roof! Like an actual swimming pool. On the roof. Just… there!”

“No way! Can we go? Please, Mom? Please,” Ruby begged.

“After dinner. If we can decide.” She gave a pointed look to Lena.

“Watch it, Arias. You wouldn’t want to wake up webbed to the ceiling or something, would you?” She smirked as Sam visibly cringed.

“If I were a bad guy, I would never, ever commit crimes in National City. Just the thought alone of being webbed against a wall makes me want to throw up.” Sam paled as she visualized herself in a dark alley, stuck to a brick wall by the spider silk, looking into Spider-Woman’s daunting eyes. “I think I’m going to have nightmares now.”

Lena shrugged and carded her fingers through Kara’s hair. Even though there was plenty of space for everyone in the living room portion of the room, they had all piled onto the one couch. Kara, still in her super suit, had her head in Lena’s lap and the rest of her body over Ruby (who was on her phone) and Sam.

“I find it… soothing. You know how cows have hug machines to lower their anxiety? Being cocooned in my webs is sort of the same thing, I suppose. It makes me feel safe and secure. It’s a calming experience, I promise. You sure you don’t want to try?” Lena stilled her hand and slowly brought her arm up and pointed her wrist at Sam. 

“Luthor, don’t you fucking dare,” Sam warned. Ruby had set her phone down to watch the exchange. She even sat as far back as possible so she wasn’t caught in the crossfire if Lena did anything.

Lena lowered her arm and laughed. It took her a couple of seconds to compose herself. “You should’ve seen the look on your face, Sammy. Come on, order something so you guys can go swimming.”

Sam huffed but picked up the phone and ordered one of everything from the sushi menu.

“You’re not going to swim with us?” Kara looked up at her girlfriend with curious eyes.

“I’m too sober, darling,” she admitted shyly. Sensing the tense air, Ruby walked to the other couch and turned on the tv. “I promise Harley and I are talking about it. But I’m just not ready.” She bit her lip and looked away. She could stop a bus with her bare hands, lift almost 15 tons, and swing from scary high heights depending solely on synthetic spider silk to catch her, but she couldn’t swim in a fucking pool because of something that happened 20 years ago.

“Hey, it’s okay. There’s no timeline for healing. What happened was traumatic and it’s going to take time for you to really come to terms with it since you didn’t have a chance with the Luthors. When you’re ready to start taking steps, I’ll be with you every step of the way. Your own super lifeguard. I’ll even give you mouth-to-mouth for free.” Kara gave an exaggerated wink that made Lena giggle. Gods, she was incredibly grateful for the Kryptonian.

“Thank you, Kara.” She pressed a kiss on the blonde’s forehead. “Though, I will ask if you can get up so I can get changed. Your hoodie is calling my name.”

Kara hummed but didn’t move. “I’m sooo comfy though.” She dug her head deeper into Lena’s thighs.

“Don’t you want me to be comfy too?”

“Well, yes. Move me then.”

“Kara,” Lena laughed. “You really want me to move you?”

The blonde nodded. “You like it when I pick you up and carry you. Maybe I want you to pick me up and carry me.”

Lena smiled down at the angel in her lap. “Okay baby,” she teased. Kara lit up and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s neck. Lena scooped the alien up and webbed her luggage to her and dragged it into the room. “My little alien,” she cooed once they were in the room. She kissed Kara sweetly and found that she liked carrying Kara around, too. It made her feel strong. “Can I be the big spoon tonight?”

“Don’t you mean jetpack?” Kara chortled when Lena tossed her onto the bed. “Of course, my love. Are you going to stay in here while we go up to the pool?” She sat up to deactivate the suit so she could change into sweats and a t-shirt.

“Yeah. I might watch some Supernatural or Wynonna Earp. Or read. Ruby keeps insisting that I should read the Percy Jackson books. She said they’ll change my life.”

Kara stared at her in disbelief. “You’ve got to read them as soon as possible! It’s one of my favorite book series, like, ever. It’s art. Actual, literal art,” she gushed.

“Okay, okay. I’ll start the first book tonight,” she promised.

“Good.” They started to head back into the living space. “Plus, those are our shows. You can’t watch them without me!”

“I thought you said you didn’t like Supernatural,” Lena accused.

“I like it! It can be scary at times though. And we left off on a cliffhanger, I want to know what happens to Dean!”

“Did Supergirl really say a show with bad effects is scary?” Ruby asked. Sam smirked and rolled her eyes.

“They didn’t have a big budget in the beginning!” Lena tried to defend her show. “Don’t be a hater, Rubes. I’m going to read the first Percy Jackson book tonight, by the way. Apparently it’s a big deal.”

Sam snorted. “Duh! It’s like saying that you’ve never seen Star Wars.” Lena didn’t respond. “....You have seen Star Wars, right?”

All eyes were on her and she felt her face grow hot. “No… but isn’t it just about aliens fighting in space?”

Gasps filled the room. “This won’t do. I’m texting Winn right now. We’re going to have a movie night every week until we finish all of them instead of game night.” Kara’s fingers were flying across the phone, no doubt making it seem like it was a crisis.

“Is it really that big of a deal?” Lena asked curiously.

“Lena, honey, I  _ promise _ you will wish you saw them earlier. It has evil family members, which is something you can relate to. Aliens! Your girlfriend is an alien! Super cool gadgets and spaceships! And lightsabers! You’re going to want a lightsaber, I already know it. I wonder if you could make one?”

“Winn agrees that you need to watch them as soon as possible. Everyone is invited, I’ll send the details in the chat.” That settled that, then.

The food eventually arrived so the group sat together and ate sushi while watching Adventure Time. Lena found herself enjoying the cartoon and wondered what else she had missed out on because of Lillian. She was never allowed to watch cartoons, she had to read classic literature (she could quote Shakespeare by the age of 16. It was a problem), she didn’t make many friends, and she was pretty much isolated a lot of her life. It was a wonder she turned out as okay as she did. Harley had said that she was just as surprised too.

Lena trailed into the room after her girlfriend once all the food was eaten and watched her change into a bikini top with swim trunks. She couldn’t help but admire the muscles that were in front of her. Unconsciously, she wet her lips.

“We’ll only be out about an hour or so. If you need anything, I’ll have my ears listening for you.”

“I’ll be fine, dear,” Lena consoled. “Enjoy yourself. Hope is installed in my phone and she’s watching the security cameras. On the small chance something happens, I have my web-shooters on me at all times. This is a mini-vacation for you too, you know. Now go have fun, Kara Zor-El. I can feel Ruby’s impatience from here.”

Kara nodded at her logic and leaned in for a kiss. “Have fun reading. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Lena grabbed the book and examined the cover. From what little she knew about the series, it was about greek mythology and teenagers fighting monsters. The cover had a young boy, Percy, she guessed, standing in the ocean with a sword and a horn? She opened the book and blew air out of her nose in amusement at the chapter title.  _ I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher. _ She already knew she was going to fall in love with the series.

Kara had to practically rip the book out of Lena’s hand around midnight.

“Lena, we have a long day tomorrow. You should get as much rest as possible. You know I’ll be dragging you all over the place. I’m determined to see all of the animals. I even brought my camera so we can take pictures!”

Lena knew it was true. Kara and Ruby combined would be difficult to keep up with, even with her enhancements. “You’re right,” she conceded. “But it was just getting good! And I totally knew he was a son of Poseidon.”

The alien snorted. “I bet you did, babe. Now come and hold me.”

  
  


Lena woke up first - which wasn’t surprising - so that gave her the responsibility of waking everyone else up.

“Kara, darling, wake up.” Lena shook her girlfriend’s arm but the alien simply turned over. “I’ll let you pick my outfit,” she bribed.

That got Kara’s attention. “Really?” Lena nodded. “Sweet!” Lena had been told by Sam and Felicia that she didn’t have good fashion sense. Wearing suits and dresses were easy for work, t-shirts and jeans for casual outings, but coordinating an outfit for the public? Her friends had said that it seemed like a toddler had dressed her. So yeah, she’d let her girlfriend dress her, she packed Lena’s clothes after all.

“Wake up, Sammy,” Lena called as she knocked on her door. She heard a grumble and moved on to Ruby’s door. “You up, kiddo?”

“Yeah. Can I wear my Heelys?” Ruby opened the door and Lena saw clothes already strewn all over the room.

“We’ll be walking all day long, so if they’re comfortable, then go ahead.” Lena tucked a lock of the girl’s hair behind her ear. “Maybe you should get me a pair for Christmas.”

“I think they have Gucci ones. I’ll totally save up and get you some, Auntie.” She left the youngest Arias to get dressed.

Her jaw dropped when she saw what Kara was wearing and what was laid out on the bed.

“I had these shirts customized just for this trip, so please indulge me,” Kara begged when Lena didn’t say anything. “Is it too cheesy? It’s too cheesy. You don’t have to actually wear it, it’s okay. I’ll even burn it right now.” Kara’s eyes started to glow and Lena snapped out of her haze. She stepped in between the clothes and the alien.

“No, honey, I think it’s adorable and totally something you’d do.” She picked up the tank top that said ‘I’m Lena’ to complement Kara’s ‘If lost, return to Lena.’ She really was dating a dork. “I also like the matching flannels.”

Lena got dressed while Kara went to chat with Ruby who was ready and bursting at the seams with joy. Kara was wearing jean shorts and she thankfully had the foresight to pick jeans for Lena. She walked out and admired her girlfriend’s body. She had rolled the sleeves up on her flannel so her toned arms were showing and she had a snapback with her family’s crest on, backward. Her whole vibe just screamed ‘Daddy’.

Sam walked out with a backpack slung over her shoulder. “What?” She stopped and raised her eyebrows. “I’ve got waters and snacks packed for us. Also some sunscreen and quarters and pennies for the pressed penny things. You’ll see what I mean.”

“You’re such a mom,” Lena poked fun of. Though, packing snacks was a good idea with their metabolisms.

“I am an amazing mom, thank you very much. Right, Ruby?”

Ruby nodded and went to hug her tightly. “The absolute best.” She then turned to Lena and attached herself to her. “You and Kara are also the best aunts ever.”

“Because we have superpowers?” She looked down and ruffled her hair playfully.

“You were my hero before you even had powers, Lena. You saved both me and my mom without being Spider-Woman,” Ruby said so earnestly as she looked up at Lena (who was fighting off tears).

“You’re my favorite.” Lena squeezed the young girl.

“Hey, stop stealing my girlfriend!” Kara joked.

“And stop stealing my daughter. Come on, I have the perfect place in mind for breakfast.”

They all went downstairs and there were thankfully no paparazzi, which meant no one knew about her trip yet. Usually, there’d be a small crowd outside of her hotel when she was staying in a new city. She’d be sure to tip the hotel extra for not exposing her stay to the media.

They pulled up just as the place - Breakfast Republic - was opening. They sat at the table and were given menus and asked for drinks almost immediately.

“Now this is what I’m talking about!” Kara exclaimed as she read over the menu. “Nice choice, Sam.” She raised her hand for a high-five.

“The oreo cookie pancakes were calling my name.” She slapped her hand to the blonde.

Lena had to admit some of the choices caught her attention. She decided to try a little bit of everything since she had the stomach to. Sam ordered the oreo cookie pancakes, true to her word, and Ruby ordered s’mores french toast and a stack of buttermilk pancakes. Lena ordered strawberry cheesecake pancakes, pineapple upside-down pancakes, and a banana split french toast. The waitress raised her eyebrows in awe or disbelief, she wasn’t sure, but continued to dutifully write down the order. Kara didn’t hold back.

“Can I please have the churro pancakes, the cinnamon roll ones, the oreo cookie, the lemon coconut, the Mr. Presley, and the Jurassic Pork?” She smiled sweetly at the waitress who was scribbling everything down. “Oh, and some fruit please?” Lena sniggered.

“W-Will that be all?” The poor woman - Nicole according to the name tag - asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

It must have been the Luthor genes shining through that made her add, “Actually, can I also have the chicken fennel sausage omelet with a side of fruit?” Kara tried to cover her laugh with a cough while Sam openly laughed. Ruby was smirking at the poor woman’s face.

“Do you want everything at once or would you rather it come out once it’s made?”

Lena decided to have mercy on Nicole. “Whenever it’s ready. There’s no rush for our orders.” Plus, the place was starting to fill up and she didn’t want to slow down the service for everyone else.

Breakfast went by well. They talked about the different types of animals they wanted to see and there were plenty of awful puns to go around from Lena. The plates kept coming and even the other patrons were looking at their table in a disgusting sort of awe. Lena ate slowly and kept polite table mannerisms while Kara scarfed down the food as if she hadn’t eaten in days. Sam and Ruby were stealing small bites (a testament to how their friendship with Kara has strengthened since the Super was picky about who touched her food) and soon enough, all the plates were empty. The cooks came out and shook hands with the couple because they were so impressed by their appetites. It was a huge compliment that they finished all the food.

Lena paid for the bill even though Sam and Kara tried to split it with her. They ended up compromising on Lena paying while they left a tip and they could split lunch. They entered the car - Lena driving, Ruby shotgun, and Kara and Sam in the back.

As they were driving past Balboa Park, she saw an orange sign ahead. “Road work ahead? Uh yeah, I sure hope it does.” Ruby laughed and clapped her hands.

“See, you’ve got the hang of it now!”

Once they got inside, Ruby grabbed a map and started debating with Kara on where to start first. They quickly decided on snakes and went left to the reptilian house. A lot of snakes were either hidden or camouflaged so they made a game out of who could find the snake in the cage first. Ruby was so fascinated by the slithery creatures that she asked Sam if she could have a snake for her birthday (“Please, Mom? I promise I’ll take it on walks and feed it mice when you aren’t home.” “You don’t walk snakes, babe”)

They exited the building, spotting a Komodo Dragon at the end, and followed the trail to alligators.

“Is it weird that I want to go in and pet one?” Kara asked as she looked down from the railing. “I mean, they won’t be able to actually hurt me. Don’t they look so cute?”

“If I jumped down there, would you be able to save me before they attack me? Take a picture so I have proof that I was in an alligator pit.” Ruby was practically vibrating at the idea and glanced down as if she was seriously considering doing it.

“Okay, that’s enough. Let’s move on before someone dies.” Sam grabbed her daughter’s shoulders and steered her away.

They moved onto the monkeys and Kara was having a blast trying to communicate with them. She was dancing around and making a lot of gestures and the orangutans watched her make a fool of herself. Some were even cheering her on, it seemed like. Once they got closer, Kara took selfies with them and even dragged Lena in for a picture. After that, they went into an aviary.

“I love flying with the birds,” Kara gushed. “Did you know Krypton didn’t have any birds? I was so surprised when I came to Earth to see these small things flying…” she trailed off in a whisper. She grabbed her camera and started taking pictures.

“Pigeons aren’t my biggest fan but I am fond of crows. They are scary smart and sometimes the same ones follow me on patrol.”

Wanting to be in the conversation, Ruby added, “One time Mom crashed the car because she almost hit a bird.”

“Ruby!” Sam groaned in embarrassment. “Birds are like my favorite animals. I had a canary growing up before I was kicked out. Patricia let it go when I left.” She had a sad, resigned look on her face.

“Ruby gets a snake and you get a bird. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.” Lena could imagine the snake accidentally eating Sam’s bird. “We should make a birdhouse together and put it in your backyard.”

“Yes!” Ruby agreed. “Kara and I can paint it!”

After that, they went to see the tigers. Lena was determined to see all the big cats. “Why couldn’t I have been bitten by a radioactive cat? I could’ve been a cool cat vigilante unlike Black Cat and Catwoman. Something classy like Black Panther.”

“You’d rather be a lazy cat over a cool spider? Lame.” Lena stuck her tongue out at Ruby.

Next were the pandas. Lena had to physically restrain Kara from hopping into the encounter.

“One time in China I got to cuddle with a panda and it was the most enlightening experience in my life. I could’ve died right then and there, I swear to Rao,” she whispered to her group. “Koalas are also very snuggly.”

“You are a koala,” Lena responded as she booped her girlfriend’s nose. “At least you keep me warm.”

“How come she gets to hug all these cool animals?” Ruby pouted.

“Because I’m awesome. Do you want a piggyback ride?”

They continued on the path and Lena had Kara take a bunch of cute pictures of the bears for her. Ruby and Sam were trying to see who had the best roar and ended up in a fit of giggles (Lena took a video because it was lowkey adorable). When they stopped for lunch, they each got souvenir cups with their favorite animals from what was available. Lena a brown bear, Kara a panda, Sam an African penguin, and Ruby a chimpanzee. 

Lena had posted a picture on her personal Instagram not too long ago and was scrolling through the comments while they waited on the food.

“Hey, Ruby? What’s BDE?” Ruby choked on her drink.

“W-What? Let me see.” Lena handed the girl her phone and Ruby’s eyes widened. “Lena has BDE in this picture but yk Kara’s strap is huge,” she read aloud. Sam threw her head back and cackled while Kara went bright red. “It means big dick energy, Auntie. A lot of these are people thirsting over you two. At least there aren’t that many hate comments.”

“Mother did say any PR is good PR.” Lena took her phone back and switched accounts to comment on her own post. “Spider-Woman is about to say something like, ‘better not be looking at other spiders’ or how about responding to that comment with ‘if you think Kara’s strap is big, you should see mine’?”

“Oh, do both!” Kara chirped even though her ears were still tinged red.

“I’m a child! I don’t want to know about your guys’ straps,” Ruby hissed. She looked around to make sure no one was listening, which, thankfully, no one was. “You two are so embarrassing, I don’t know how Mom deals with you two.”

Lena tilted her head. “If you think we’re bad, you should see your mom with Maggie. Or hell, we were quite the duo back in the day, weren’t we?” She playfully nudged Sam.

“You’re literally 24, don’t say back in the day. It makes me feel old,” she complained. “And I don’t want to scar my child any more than we already have.” Ruby merely huffed in response.

After the break, they continued their trek in the hot Californian sun. Sam had an absolute blast with the baboons and their red butts and took a lot of pictures to send to Maggie and Harley (it was almost frightening how close they were getting).

The group stayed at the zoo all day. They did see all of the animals, which was some sort of miracle. There was a point where Lena gave Sam a piggyback ride which was a bit awkward since she was so tall, but Ruby was on Kara’s back and she didn’t want to say anything. They received a lot of odd looks but Lena was used to the attention.

(“I thought I’d feel taller. Seems like the same height if I was just standing.”

“I will drop you and let you walk the rest of the way, you giraffe.)

30 minutes to closing, Lena let her family free into the gift shop by the exit. Kara and Ruby went for the stuffed animals while Sam went to the clothes and getting little trinkets for the squad. The CEO spent over $100 but it was money well spent. The two heroes ended up carrying the majority of the bags to the car.

“There’s this place in Little Italy that smelled really good. I can drive since you both look tired,” Kara offered. The two adults nodded tiredly - it was amazing how much energy the Kryptonian had - and allowed her to drive. Lena forgot how much of a terrible driver she was.

“Kara, darling, do you even have a license?” Lena was gripping onto the car trying to be mindful of her strength.

The blonde took a sharp right turn that made even Ruby yelp. “Yup! The DEO gave me one. Alex hates my driving and I just fly everywhere, but this is fun!” She swerved into another lane without using her blinker.

“Supergirl or not, I will destroy you if you even get a scratch on my car,” Sam threatened. Kara slightly shrunk back in the seat and made sure to be more careful.

Dinner was nice and mostly quiet since it was such a long day. Lena drove everyone back to the hotel and asked for the car to be brought around at 8:00 am. Ruby went straight to bed and Sam stayed for a bit of conversation before retiring to her room.

“Shower then you read me a chapter before bed?” Kara murmured.

“A hot shower sounds amazing.”

Lena let herself relax as Kara massaged the shampoo in her hair. She had been sweaty most of the day and it felt good to wash it all off.

“Okay sweetheart, let’s see what kind of quest Mr. Jackson is offered.” Lena was comfortably in between Kara’s legs, her back resting on the alien’s warm front. She would never get tired of this. This happiness she thought she didn’t deserve before. This fulfillment. Lena never thought she’d be able to find true love - she actually never believed in it. Until Kara, as cheesy as it sounded. Not only did she feel as if she found her soulmate, but she also made a family that she would literally die for and she knew they’d do the same in the heartbeat. She almost wanted to thank Lex for inadvertently making Lena’s life better. If it wasn’t for him, she’d never have moved to National City. She probably wouldn’t have met Supergirl. She wouldn’t have become Spider-Woman. She wouldn’t have her family. The universe really did work in mysterious ways.

-

Lena thought the zoo was tiring. That had nothing on the safari park. 

Not only was it almost thrice as big, it also had some massive hills.

“Leave me to die. I can’t go on. Feed my body to the condors if you must,” Ruby wearily complained as she sat down on a bench.

Sam sat next to her daughter and chugged the contents in her hydroflask. “I thought this was supposed to be a vacation, not a workout.”

“This is the best vacation.” Kara beamed at everyone. “It’s so amazing seeing these animals up close! And I fully support where the money is going. Straight back to the park and supporting the animals. Maybe I can ask Snapper to let me write an article about their conservation efforts. I have a lot of good pictures.”

“I’m glad you’re having fun, Kar.” Lena leaned her head on Kara’s shoulder. They were standing against the railing overlooking the park from their vantage point up on Condar Ridge. “Even though I’m in shape, my legs are burning.”

“Yesterday was a workout in and of itself and today is like twice that.” Kara looked down at her camera and started to flip through the pictures quickly. “Can I take another one of you? Please?” She knew Lena hated taking pictures so Kara had to be sneaky about it or beg.

“You’re lucky I’m too tired to argue.” She posed for a couple of pictures, feeling extremely silly as she did, and smiled fondly at the photographer. “How come you get to take pictures of me but I can’t take pictures of you?”

“You didn’t ask,” Kara hummed and quickly looked through the pictures she just took. “I’m hungry. I saw they had pizza. Can we have pizza?”

After eating, the family went on an up-close tour in the African Plains. They were in a golf cart and the driver drove right up to the rhinos and giraffes and the ostriches all while spitting facts about the animals and the encounter. Kara was asking questions and happily chatting up the driver. Ruby was in awe. With wide eyes, she tried to take pictures but instead took to pointing things out to her mom even though she was right there. Lena was fascinated by the animal’s wide eyes and the curiosity in them. The intelligence.

She sent Eve a text so she could look into different charities for wildlife and conservation efforts. It wasn’t much, but it was a small thing she could do. She was trying to save the world from global warming and she was already dipping her toes into the medical field. She’d have to rely on other people to keep the endangered species alive.

A couple of hours and another $100 later, Lena was on the freeway heading home. Sam and Ruby were knocked out in the back. Kara offered to stay in the car instead of flying home so she could keep Lena company. The couple was singing along to Lena’s playlist trying to keep quiet. Traffic wasn’t too horrible (there were only 2 accidents) so they arrived just as it was getting dark. Almost as if sensing they were back in National City, Sam woke up.

“What time is it? Where are we?”

“Quarter ‘til 8,” Lena responded as she parked the car in her driveway. “Do you want to stay and eat dinner before heading home? I’m feeling Chinese tonight.”

“Yeah, sure.” Sam nodded and started to wake her daughter up. Lena opened the trunk and started to grab their luggage. Kara was working on getting their haul.

“Welcome home, Boss,” Hope greeted her creator. “It was empty without you here.” The lights dimmed then brightened.

“I missed you too, baby.” Lena put everything down in her room and stroked the wall lovingly. “You’re always with me on my phone, Hope. I won’t leave you all alone. I love you.”

“Uh, should I leave you two alone?” Kara raised an eyebrow (she was trying to mimic Lena but failed every time).

“Oh, hush.” Lena stopped her stroking. “She’s just jealous that I call you baby and have you with me all the time.” Hope used the lights to laugh.

“If you moved in already, there would be no reason to be jealous, Kara.” Why did Lena program Hope to be witty and cheeky again?

“Can you please place an order for Chinese? The usual plus whatever the Arias’ would like. Thank you, Hope.” Lena started to pull out her clothes to wash. “Are you staying here tonight?”

“Y-Yeah.” Kara was fidgeting with her hands. “It’s too early for us to move in together, right?”

Lena stopped and walked over to her girlfriend. “You have a key to my place and you’re welcomed here anytime. I know you’re fond of your flat in the city so I don’t want to pressure you to move in or anything. We’re fine how we are now, right? We have plenty of time, Kara. If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. Okay?”

“Okay.” Lena hugged her girlfriend. Kara rested her head on Lena’s shoulder even though she was taller. “I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.” She kissed the top of the blonde’s head. “Now come on before Sam starts complaining.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

-

“I’ve finally deciphered Dr. Crane’s notes and I wrote some ideas down. On Thursday I’m flying out to Seattle to meet one of the best neurosurgeons in the country. From there, we’re going to come up with a game plan on how to help Dr. Octavius,” Lena informed Kara over dinner Tuesday night.

Kara slurped the spaghetti into her mouth. “What hospital? When will you be back?”

Lena handed her girlfriend a napkin, a fond smile on her face as she did so. “I’ll be back Friday night if everything goes well. I’m going to be speaking with the doctor and a couple of owners of the hospital to hopefully make a business deal. L-Corp and Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital having ties to one another will help my stocks and their business. They’ll be the first to have any of my medical treatments. I’ll have also officially joined the medical field with a well-known hospital. It’s a win-win situation.”

“Grey-Sloan? No way! Alex used to work there. Maybe you should bring her along to help schmooze the people.”

“As if I need help schmoozing,” Lena teased. “I feel like I haven’t patrolled in forever. I’d go out tonight but I’m still exhausted from the weekend.”

“I have a ton of research I need to do for my article so I probably won’t go out tonight. How about you go and patrol for an hour or so and when you get back I’ll run you a warm bath?”

“Maybe I should take you along for schmoozing. You’re good at it for a reporter.” Kara was good at reading people and, if that wasn’t a dangerous trait for a reporter, she also had adorable puppy eyes that were almost impossible to say no to. “I promise I’ll be back before 11. My body is aching to go on a good swing. My spider side doesn’t like being idle.”

“I understand.” Kara nodded. “My powers want to be used. I go for flights, like, twice a day. It’s an extension of our bodies and they hate being suppressed.”

“Very true.”

Kara and Lena use their powers all the time with each other. Kara recently took to hovering and floating around the house. Lena liked to stick to the walls and, if she was having trouble with a project, she’d sit on the ceiling. When she would be on the ceiling, Kara would float up there with her and work like that. They made a game using their hearing (Kara’s was limited because of the lead in the walls, so they were more or less even in the house) by whispering softly and seeing how long it would take the other to notice they were being talked to. Lena didn’t feel the need to be in a web cocoon anymore with Kara around, but she would sometimes spin webs around the house because it felt like it needed to be released. The alien found it amusing for whatever reason and she’d either take pictures of it or use her heat vision to create designs in the webs. When it was just the couple, they didn’t bother turning the lights on because they both had some sort of night vision.

(One time Maggie came by unannounced and screamed in such a high pitch that it hurt Lena’s ears when she saw Lena hanging from the ceiling. The house was pitch black and silent so when the detective flipped the switch, she did not expect to see the CEO face-to-face with her. After that, Hope was in charge of turning the lights on slowly as to not scare either person)

Another thing was that one of the two was always eating. Lena had texted Cisco asking if Earth-1 had anything that kept Barry full. She found out about the protein bars they made for the speedster and soon replicated the formula for herself and Kara. It definitely needed improvement in the taste department, but it did sate her hunger.

(Lena had told the store she frequented that instead of throwing spoiled food out, to let her know a day before it expired. She would then go in and buy up whatever was about to go bad and eat it with Kara. The recipes she came up with were pretty creative since the ingredients were often inconsistent)

It was easy to be completely themselves around each other. Being able to use their powers however and whenever was a win, but it wasn’t the only thing that made them that comfortable with each other. Kara would talk about Krypton in the darkness of the bedroom or quietly on the couch. She would teach Lena Kryptonese during lunch and on patrols if neither of them were busy. In turn, Lena would tell Kara what little she remembered about her mother and some things about growing up. Lex would only be spoken about in her house, not in even Kara’s apartment. Kara supported Lena and encouraged her to talk about what her brother used to be like. It was obvious she missed who he used to be. Lena would teach the alien Gaelic over dinner and they would send each other little phrases over text to practice. Together they’d talk about loss and hope, death and life. Whenever Kara was with Lena, she was able to take off the cape and the glasses. She could be Kara Zor-El, last daughter of Krypton, gigantic nerd, and big-hearted dork. Lena was able to be Lena Kieran Luthor, genius dumbass, pun-loving weirdo, and soft goofball.

Kara sometimes felt like she was Atlas from the old Greek myths. She was as strong as a titan and fierce like one. She also felt like she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders - literally. But Kara wasn’t a Greek myth. She was an alien with an amazing girlfriend that helped take the weight off and brought her to Earth instead. Made her feel like she was human.

Separate, Kara and Lena were formidable people. But together? They were unstoppable. A true force to be reckoned with. 

Lena stood up and changed into her blue and red suit. She kissed Kara farewell before putting the mask on and swinging into the city. It was such an euphoric feeling. She understood why people would go skydiving. The air hit her body through the suit keeping her refreshed but not exactly cold. She let go of a web and did front flip while shouting in joy. Quickly, she shot another web and swung down towards the road. There was no crime yet so she’d have to keep herself entertained with swinging and flipping.

Within an hour she busted a drug deal and helped someone change their tire. She had been walking along the edge of a building when she picked up on a familiar pair of footsteps near her.

“I feel like every time I wear this suit, I run into you,” Lena spoke and turned around to see Black Cat leaning against a wall.

“It does look good on you,” she purred as she stalked over to the Spider. “You should go though, I’m working.”

Lena squatted on the ledge and looked at her friend. “Not stealing, right? You could furrget about me turning a blind eye to your thievery.”

Felicia face-palmed. “You know I hate cat puns. I’m doing some recon for Harls.”

The eyes on Lena’s mask widened a fractioned. “What kind of recon? And since when was Harley ‘Harls’?”

“She wants to see if any thugs want to have therapy sessions with her. She wouldn’t snitch on them, it’s against her villain code or something.” Black Cat pursed her lips. “We might’ve been hanging out recently. Did you know that Pam is a really good cook? Harley can’t cook for shit but she makes up for it in enthusiasm.” The lenses widened again.

“You’re not exactly the type of person to be having cooked meals with people you just met,” Lena started. “Is there some tea you want to spill?” (Ruby really needed to stop teaching gen z language to the adults around her)

Felicia’s heartbeat sped up and Lena’s spider-sense tingled when she lied by saying, “No.” If it wasn’t for her abilities, Lena wouldn’t have known her friend was lying. She decided not to say anything. “I’ve also been hanging around Harry a lot. We have lunch on Wednesdays. His girlfriend is cool too, I guess. I definitely see why you two were fuck buddies.” The Cat slapped the Spider’s back. “Her kid is cooler than I expected. You found yourself a nice family, kid.”

Lena shook her head and laughed. “You know, they could be your family too, if you stay. There’s no need to take off. I promise everyone grows on you. One day you’re a lone wolf and the next a group of people you wouldn’t think would fit together are at your house every week.”

“I guess that doesn’t sound  _ too _ bad.” She wrapped her arm in Lena’s and rested her head on the vigilante. “Drifting around was starting to get tiring,” she admitted so quietly Lena wasn’t sure if she actually heard her at first. “With everything that happened, you and Harry felt like home. I’m glad we’ve all somehow managed to find each other once again.”

“Me too,” Lena agreed. “Small world, huh?” Seriously, what were the odds of them all coming together? “I was serious about offering you a job at either CatCo or L-Corp if you want to go straight. I happen to know the CEO, you know.”

“You’re such a loser.” Felicia shoved off her friend though she was smiling. “I’ll race you to the Walmart on Highland and Plaza before I go home for the night?”

“Deal.”

The two took to the rooftops until they ran out of roofs. It was on foot from there on and Lena almost felt bad about leaving Felicia in the dust. Almost. They had a playful argument before Lena called it a night. One warm bath and protein bar later, she was happily snuggled against the love of her life.

She fell asleep almost right away. Her dreams were filled with flying spiders and talking cats.

“Welcome to Seattle, Ms. Luthor,” the chauffeur greeted her.

“Thank you.” Lena stepped into the back of the black car. The car ride was silent, which she was used to, so she stared out the tinted window. 

She wondered how different life would’ve been if she moved L-Corp to Seattle instead of National City. Would Kara, as Supergirl, still have checked on her because Superman wanted to be intimidating? Would Kara have decided on becoming a reporter a different way and interviewed Lena still? Would Lena still have made the alien detection device? Would she still have become Spider-Woman?

The car came to a stop and the driver opened her door. “What time would you like me to return?”

“7 p.m. please.” They exchanged numbers just in case and Lena headed into the hospital. Once she arrived on the third floor, she went up to the nurse’s desk and asked for the doctor. She was then put in a conference room and waited around 15 minutes until the doctor walked in.

“So sorry for keeping you waiting, Ms. Luthor. The surgery I was just in had some complications and then one of the interns was asking me questions and then I was talking to another doctor and-”

“It’s okay, Dr. Shephard,” Lena reassured. “I understand how hard it is to keep track of time when you’re busy.” She took those 15 minutes to catch up on emails and text Sam about a merger they were trying to finish. “Would you like to discuss this over lunch?”

“Are you sure?” She pulled off her scrub cap and tried to tame her hair. At Lena’s nod she said, “The cafeteria food isn’t half bad. Or would you like to go out to, like, a restaurant or something?”

“The cafeteria will be just fine.”

After grabbing some food, Amelia brought them to the far corner of the room that was pretty obscure. Lena pulled out folders from the briefcase she brought and carefully laid out the papers.

“Thank you once again, Dr. Shepherd, for taking the time to look over this and possibly help me come up with a solution.”

“Amelia, please.” She picked up the brain scans and held them up to the light, tracing over it with her finger. “I have to say that the project intrigued me. Octavius knew my brother and if Derek were here, he’d help any way he could. Plus, I may also be hoping to meet Spider-Woman at one point. I know she visits your hospitals frequently, it wouldn’t be too out of the question if she dropped by one day. Right?” 

Lena laughed. “If I’m calling you Amelia, call me Lena. And I suppose it’s not a far-fetched assumption. Perhaps I could even bribe Supergirl to come. I’ll ask my girlfriend.” Amelia put the papers down and stared at Lena with wide eyes.

“So it’s true? You’re dating both the superheroes?”

“Am I?” Lena winked. “Dr. Crane had left detailed reports about his work with his fear gas and I was thinking…”

Lena was no expert in neuroscience. She learned the absolute basics when working with Dr. Octavius and looked a little into it when gathering her data, but most things were still too complicated for her to understand. Dr. Shepherd thankfully seemed to understand and explained everything in detail and answered all of Lena’s questions without thinking her stupid. Amelia admitted there wasn’t too much she could actually do - there was irreversible damage - but reversing Scarecrow’s fear serum may help in the amygdala. Besides that, it was honestly up to therapy for his recovery.

“I can ask Batman and Poison Ivy for help reversing the fear serum. They’ve both had some experience with it. Once that’s finished, do you think we could run trials? I’m doing this to help my friend and if it helps others in the process, then that’s a bonus.”

“Can I just say that you’re actually like, super cool? You are nothing like what the news makes you out to be.” Amelia was looking at Lena in absolute admiration. “You managed to get out of your brother’s shadow, you run a Fortune 500 company at 24, you’re super brilliant, and you know actual superheroes.” She was still taking the CEO in as if she couldn’t believe Lena was actually there talking to her. “Imagine if you were a doctor?”

Lena blushed at the praises and fought to not fidget. “I’m doing my best to be everywhere at once without stretching myself too thin.”  _ Change the subject. Get the attention off of you _ , she thought. “You had said the only thing that could help right now would be therapy? What about virtual reality therapy? Like what Obsidian North is doing.”

She seemed to consider it. “That would theoretically work. Though, I know it’s super prestigious and elite. Not many people can even get appointments. Not to mention that it’s in Buenos Aires, Argentina.”

A smile crept on Lena’s face. “Oh, that won’t be a problem. Ms. Rojas and I… well, we know each other really well.”

Soon after, Amelia was paged and Lena was left packing up the papers with a new feeling of determination coming over her. She texted the chauffeur to pick her up. The rest of the night she was going over her proposal to the board while practicing what she was going to say. She was done by midnight and was dying to go for patrol or tinker in the lab, but she could do neither of those things. She did the next best thing. Finish the first Percy Jackson book.

She woke up early and had a quick breakfast before arriving at the hospital once again. She met the Boardman, Dr. Avery Jackson, and one of the board directors, Dr. Meredith Grey, when she stepped out of the elevator. They seemed to be in a rush, which Lena didn’t blame them for, so she made sure to be swift with her presentation. An hour later, she was told that they would finalize some things and send her an email.

She arrived in National City just in time to make it to Winn’s for movie night. All in all, things were looking up for her.

-

“Come on, Ruby. Get ‘em, baby girl! Yeah!” Sam’s phone rang and she picked it up in annoyance. “Hello? Well, if JQB has a problem with the conditions of the deal, they can call me directly, anytime.” Lena did not miss having to deal with that at all.

Ruby was dribbling towards the goal and kicked the ball in the upper left corner, effectively scoring a goal.

“Moms, did you see that?” (For whatever reason she said that saying Moms was easier than saying Mom and Auntie or Sam and Lena. She didn’t say it often, but once in a while she would to “save my precious breath”)

“Yes! Amazing. Good job, baby!” Sam cheered.

“Keep it up, Ruby! You’re doing great!” Lena added. Ruby beamed at them as she jogged down the line to set up.

“Yes, Paul. No, I’m still here. Yes, you can send the final docs to my assistant this afternoon.” Sam rolled her eyes and hung up her phone.

Lena smirked at her friend. “I kind of feel bad leaving you to deal with all that.”

“You have more pressing things to do.” She side-eyed Lena with a smug smile. “Besides, I think I’m pretty good at it.”

Before Lena could retort, a lady walked up to Sam and asked, “Which one is yours?”

“Oh, uh, she’s the forward right there.” She smiled to herself. “I swear to God I don’t know how she’s so coordinated. I struggle to think and chew at the same time -” Lena snorted and whispered, “ _ what were you saying about being pretty good _ ” which Sam ignored - “How about you? Which one’s yours?”

“Ruby is special.”

“Yeah, she is…” Sam scrunched her eyebrows and stared at the stranger. “Wait. I don’t think I told you her name.” Lena’s spider-sense was quiet so the woman didn’t seem to pose any danger, but she absentmindedly rubbed at her bracelet where her web-shooter was hidden. Just in case.

“She is chosen. So are you.” The Woman ™ pulled out a flier from her purse and handed it to Sam.

“I’m sorry, who did you say you were?”

“A follower. Please, bring Ruby to our community so that she may learn her path.”

Sam plastered on a fake smile. “Thanks.” When The Woman ™ walked away, Sam and Lena exchanged looks. “Was that creepy or what?”

“Totally creepy.” She watched Ruby struggling against a defender. “Let me see the flyer?” Sam handed it over and Lena stared at it for a solid minute, unsure if she was right or not. “This is the Kryptonian symbol for Rao. The god of Krypton,” she whispered.

“What is it doing on a pamphlet?”

“I don’t know. I should tell Kara about this.” Lena took her phone out and texted her girlfriend. The reporter was currently on the other side of the city for a story so Lena sent a picture to leave it up to Kara if it was important enough to come right away for. Apparently, it was.

“Let me see?” Kara had practically materialized out of nowhere, startling Sam to the point she almost fell out of her chair. “This is not good.” She opened it and there was simply an address and a time inside. “I’m going to go tonight and see what the heck this is about”

“Not without me you aren’t,” Lena inserted. “Who knows what’s there.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

The referee blew the whistle three times which signaled the end of the game. Ruby raced over to her family with a wide grin on her face. “Kara! Did you see how awesome I was?!”

“No, actually. I just got here.” Kara had a faraway look on her face. Lena grasped the alien’s hand.

“Go for the debrief, Rubes. We’ll pack up and wait for you.” The soccer player nodded and headed over to the coach where the players were starting to huddle together.

Lena stood up and studied Kara’s face. “I can go tonight, just me.”

“No, no. I want to go. I’m just worried about what we might see.” Lena could sense there was more to the story, but she didn’t want to push. She helped Sam with the chairs instead.

“Moms! Everyone is going out to eat ice cream to celebrate. Can we go too?”

“Of course we can go, honey.” She smoothed some of Ruby’s sweaty hair out of her face. “I don’t know about Lena and Kara though…”

Kara seemed to check back to reality. “Ice cream, you say? Well, let’s go!” Ruby jumped in joy. She raced towards the car, adrenaline still pumping through her veins.

“Make sure you put your shin guards and cleats in the trunk. I don’t want them stinking up the front of the car,” Sam teased her daughter. Ruby rolled her eyes but obliged anyway. Celebrating with her team, Mom, and her aunts were all she cared about at that moment.

-

“Looks like an AA meeting,” Lena muttered as they walked into a room.

A random girl approached them. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Kara’s usual cheery greeting was flat.

“Are you new here?”

“Yeah.”

“Lucky you. My first meeting was transformative.” The girl rocked on the back of her heels and had a dreamy expression on her face.

“Really?” She nodded vigorously. “So, what exactly happens during the meetings?”

“Oh, um. It’s actually more powerful if you experience it yourself. It’s starting. Sit.”

The couple exchanged looks with each other before sitting down in the back row. Lena - who was wearing a baseball cap and brown eye contacts - laced her fingers in Kara’s.

After a couple of minutes, a man walked up to a pedestal that had the Kryptonian god’s symbol. “Welcome, children of Rao.”

“This feels a bit cult-y…” Lena murmured.

“We are here, all of us, by Her grace. We are here together, standing in the light, for just one reason. We are here because Supergirl saved us.” He lit a candle. Kara’s hand clenched around Lena’s. “Let us begin by affirming our faith. Though we go forth alone, our soul unites under Rao’s gladsome rays. For Rao sees all, feels all. His love is eternal. May Rao protect us so that we might protect others. Many of us don’t get second chances in life. Many of us stay lost. And I’m not talking about driving around in circles because you are running out of gas and you have no GPS. I’m talking about spiritually lost. And needing to find your way back home. Like Olivia.” He gestured for her to go up on the ‘stage’. “Don’t be shy. It’s okay,” he prompted.

“Hello. It was um, it was spring break. When I, uh, caught my boyfriend cheating on me with my best friend. And I took it hard. I snuck into a rooftop party. And I got totally wasted and I stood on the ledge as a joke. And the next thing I knew, I was falling. And as I fell, I thought, I hoped if this is it, that it’s quick. But it wasn’t quick. And that fall lasted an eternity. And then She caught me. And She told me that everything is going to be okay. Because of Supergirl, I realized I still deserved to be loved. Supergirl saved me.” Everyone clapped.

“Do you remember saving her?”

“I-” Kara faltered as she looked around. “I remember all of them.”

“And now, every day, our Sister Olivia lives in the light of Rao’s presence on Earth. The light that shines through Supergirl. In the name of Supergirl our Savior…”

“In the name of Supergirl our Savior…” the people chorused.

“We give thanks.”

“We give thanks.”

“Wait a minute. Who exactly are they praying to?” Lena asked. 

“Me. They’re praying to me.” It seemed as if all the color drained from Kara’s face. “I can’t be here.”

Lena picked up on the hero’s unease. “Let’s go to the DEO and see what Winn can find.” It was late so Maggie or the captain wouldn’t have been able to look for this guy in the database and Lena didn’t have a database for Hope to look through. Winn had been talking about how the DEO was improving anyway, so it was a good chance to see if that was true.

“Yeah.”

As quietly as they could, they snuck out, but not before Lena snapped a picture of the man. Kara changed into her Supergirl costume and flew them to the government building.

“Hey, Winn. I was hoping you could do me a favor and see what you can find on this guy?” Lena handed her phone to the agent.

Winn studied the picture and shrugged. “No problem.” He went to his computer and called them a couple of minutes later.

“Ran facial recognition. Thomas Coville, 44 years old. Born and raised in National City. Definitely not an alien, no offense. He has no criminal record, no red flags. Until three years ago when his wife filed for divorce and then his life fell apart. He was disbarred from practicing law after a string of misdemeanor convictions for public drinking and disorderly conduct.”

“I don’t understand how that connects to Supergirl. I don’t remember saving him. And trust me, I would remember.” Kara frowned and Winn cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“Has he been anywhere that Supergirl has saved? Train crashes, buildings being destroyed?” Len asked.

Winn started to type on the iPad. J’onn came over and Kara told both him and Winn the story about the place they were just at. “Thomas Coville was on Flight 237.”

Kara gasped in surprise. “What’s so important about Flight 237?” Lena was impressed that Kara could remember everything. Though, if Lea saved a plane from crashing, she’d probably remember what flight it was, too.

“It’s the flight Alex was on that I saved. The night I became Supergirl.”

J’onn nodded “So now we know why Coville is the leader of a religion that worships Supergirl.” Lena hoped deep down that there wasn’t a Spider-Woman cult.

“But it’s not a religion, J’onn. It’s a cult. He’s taking the teachings of Rao and twisting them.” Kara was obviously upset by this. Lena knew how much Krypton meant to her and to have what little of her planet left manipulated like that?

“How does he know so much about it, right? And I don’t mean just the symbol, but I’m talking about the sacred texts.” As far as the metahuman was concerned, everything to know about Krypton and the Kryptonians was either with the DEO, at the fortress of solitude, or in Lex’s journals.

Kara nodded. “Coville’s handing out pamphlets and recruiting people that’ve been saved by Supergirl into his “Cult of Rao”. He’s got to have a motive. Winn, can you keep digging on Coville?

“I can dig it,” Winn agreed.

“Geat. I’m going home. Do you want me to drop you off?”

“Don’t be daft. I’m coming with you, silly.” Kara offered a lazy smile. They said goodnight to J’onn and Winn then headed home.

Lena was on patrol the next day when Hope alerted her to a building on fire. When she arrived, a Supergirl landed with a boy in her arms.

“I was waiting for you.” He bowed at her feet.

The girl from the previous night - Olivia - ran to the boy and dragged him up into a hug. “You did it, babe!” She kissed him. “She saved you!”

Spider-Woman heard screaming in the building and dashed inside hoping her suit would protect her from the heat. It was fire-retardant but Lena wasn’t sure how it would hold up when she ran into a burning building.

“I knew she would. I never lost faith.” She heard the boy say.

“You’re one of us now. Thank Rao,” Olivia was elated by the fact. Spider-Woman shot her web at a boy cowering in a corner and brought him to her arms.

“Thank Supergirl.” Spidey placed the young boy down next to the alien and hopped back into the fire when she heard another cry for help.

She managed to get the remaining citizens out with only minor burns on their part since she used her body as a shield. Supergirl was helping the fire department out with her freeze breath. Once the fire was out and everyone was safe, the couple went onto L-Corp’s roof so they could be completely alone.

“Hey, you okay?” Lena questioned when she realized Kara wasn’t going to speak first.

The Super laid her head in the Spider’s lap. Lena took off her mask so she could see her girlfriend properly. To help soothe her anxieties, Lena started to comb her finger’s through the alien’s hair. 

“Our religion was so important on Krypton. Not just spiritually, but it was our community. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I heard those prayers again. But Coville’s teachings are so misguided. I tried to tell him, but he only hears what he wants to hear. I mean, how do I tell him that my sister was on a crashing plane and he just got lucky?” 

“I don’t know, darling.”

A few moments passed in silence. “He knows I’m Supergirl.”

“What? How?” The metahuman momentarily stopped her stroking in surprise but continued right away when Kara pouted.

“He said he looked into my eyes and just knew.” She closed her eyes and turned into Spidey’s stomach. “I can fight so many things but I don’t know how to fight someone’s belief. He’s blinded by faith.”

“I wish I had the answers for you, sweetheart. I really do. People see you and your cousin as gods walking the Earth. You two are real. You help save people all the time. They see you and they feel you, so they latch onto you and make you a god in their eyes.”

“But you do the same thing. Kinda,” the blonde tried to argue.

Lena chuckled. “I dress up as a spider and make bad puns. You look the part of a hero and act righteously. I stay local to National City and mingle with the pedestrians to humanize myself to them. You help around the globe and are literally out of this world. You’re their god and I’m a demigod. Someone who’ll be talked about and legends will be told, but I haven’t done anything world-changing publically as Spider-Woman. The only reason people know about me is through social media, but you have been to every continent and helped people from there. It’s unfair, yes. I really am sorry that someone is twisting your religion.”

“I love you.” Kara kissed Lena on the stomach.

“I love you too. How about we get some ice cream? I’m craving a sundae right now.”

“Didn’t we just have ice cream yesterday?” Kara snorted. She got up though. No way was she gonna deny ice cream.

Lena pulled the mask back over her face and secured it. “I heard they have two new flavors at the one on 8th street and A Ave. Supergirl and Spider-Woman. It won’t taste as good as the real thing, but I need to try it to make sure.” The Spider winked and jumped off the building. Supergirl blushed and dove after her.

It was Tuesday night so Lena was at L-Corp going through her paperwork. It was almost 8 when Hope suddenly alerted her to a problem at the stadium downtown. She decided for the Mark II and slapped the spider on her chest. Thankfully, Eve left thirty minutes prior.

Spider-Woman swung through the streets and made it to the stadium. Hope had informed her that Supergirl was on-site at the basement. Lena snuck in and stayed glued to the ceiling. Kara glanced up at her but didn’t say anything directly to her.

“Whatever you did to the BetaHedron, to the probe… You have to stop it now,” the alien demanded. Lena recognized Coville right away as well as the followers from the meeting.

“Don’t you see the beauty? The same vessel that delivered Rao’s word to Earth has now become an instrument for destruction. To give you the chance to deliver thousands to our ranks. A test to reaffirm to yourself what Rao sees in you.” The Webhead noticed the giant… egg thing. From the short conversation, it seemed like it was a bomb. 

“But Rao is peaceful!” Supergirl refuted. “Rao would never ask his followers to endanger other people. What you’re doing is an insult to Him.”

  
“What we’re doing is in service  _ of _ Him. And in service of you.” That guy needed a reality check.

“Winn, you’re going to have to tell me how to shut it down,” Supergirl spoke into her earpiece. Lena quickly changed the frequency so she could listen in too.

“Don’t worry, this is all part of Rao’s plan,” Coville said.

Supergirl walked up to the egg bomb to defuse it but stuttered in her step and fell onto her knees. “Winn. Winn! It’s Kryptonite.” Well, shit.

“You said that she would save us. That she would save everybody!” Olivia shouted as she stared at the Super on the floor in pain.

“She will. Those people up there, they need to be awoken. Only you can do that. You are the one to deliver Rao’s light upon all of us.”

Kara reached for a shard of metal. “Don’t you see? I am no god.” She cut her palm and she started to bleed.

“No!” The followers got spooked and started running away. Lena dropped from the ceiling and approached the egg.

“Winn, how do I deactivate this?” She opened the back and saw the Kryptonite. She grabbed it and threw it as far away as she could.

“There’s no time! T-minus 3 minutes until the whole place explodes!”

Lena looked at the panel and saw that everything was in Kryptonese. She really needed to learn the language faster. Or program Hope to read it. That would be a smart idea. Lena looked over to Supergirl. She was still on the floor but at least Alex was by her side.

“Hope, how far is the pier?”

“15.2 miles, Boss. It is possible to make it in time if you leave in 30 seconds.” The Spider nodded to herself and started to web up the egg bomb.

Alex took notice. “What are you doing?”

Lena secured the egg and strapped it to her back. It was an overweight backpack, but she could still swing like this. “Getting rid of the bomb, duh.” Without another word, she sped off.

“Wait, Spider-Woman has the bomb?” Winn shrieked. “That thing can explode while it’s on your back!” Spider-Woman was already in the air. She was calculating the optimal points and letting go at peak height so she could jump further. Her back and arms were already starting to burn.

“Oh, really?” Lena snarked. “Supergirl couldn’t fly it out of there. I’ve got to do this.” She could already see the lights from the pier. Hope had given Lena a countdown in her HUD. 45 seconds.

“L-Let me go, Alex! I have to save her!” Kara begged. Lena would be sure to thank Alex for holding Kara back.

30 seconds. She landed and started to quickly web herself a slingshot. She hadn’t actually done this before, but she trusted her math. 15 seconds. Lena ripped the egg from her back and held it close to her front. She walked backward until the webs were taught and launched herself in the air. 7 seconds. She was a good distance over the ocean. “Bombs away,” she joked into the comm. With all her might, she threw the bomb as further into the air.

The explosion was fierce. It roared in Lena’s ears and she felt incredibly hot. Some shrapnel pierced the armor of her suit. She was on fire. It burned. Her ears were ringing. Then she felt cold. Suffocated. She felt like she was being pulled down into the darkness. Some sparks danced off the armor and electrocuted her. Everything went black.

  
  


….

Maxwell Dillon was enjoying his night. He was leaning against the railing of his boat with a fishing pole in his hand. He liked fishing at night. There weren’t many people and it was peaceful. Over the open ocean, he could see stars he wouldn’t be able to see in the city. When he looked up, stars aren’t what caught his attention. Spider-Woman and an explosion did.

Chunks started to rain down as well as the hero. The boat rocked side to side. Maxwell clung onto the railing for dear life. Then, out of nowhere, it felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Jolts of electricity went down his spine causing him to seizure. He smelt burnt flesh. It was probably his. A blue piece of rock fell next to him and started to disintegrate. As the rock destroyed itself, the electricity conducted itself off of the object onto Max. He promptly passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's now 2:35 and I am burnt out. My cat is also crawling over me help. I am so meticulous about tiny details, it's annoying. Like now that I'm keeping track of the dates and what should I post and stuff. Can you believe it took me an hour on just the social media portion? I don't reread my shit often though so I cringe. Like last chapter when I kept saying Selina instead of Felicia? Like lmao where was my brain, not in my head obviously.
> 
> Bet you know what villain is showing up next chapter!
> 
> Can you tell that I ship SuperReignCorp lmao my hand slipped with the family fluff. I live in San Diego so I had to write a lot while in the city sorry not sorry.
> 
> What zodiac signs do you think the characters are? I need to have birthdays for them.
> 
> That ice cream picture I took in Mexico and now I'm cravvving it 
> 
> LOOK!!!!! I made another [vine thing](https://youtu.be/Z9Wao4c10uM) and this one took me 3 hours to do don't let it flop. I like having friends so feel free to talk to me! Or send requests/asks of you want. It doesn't have to be about the story. [My Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/timelords-angel-is-sherlocked) and [my twitter](https://twitter.com/dr_halfblood). Who actually listens to the [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3u4wox2zAJV1uhqZ5TaQ3q?si=BFADZ2vWTGmX8ah-4IM1Fg)?


	21. Over 9000

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena deals with the consequences of being hit by the bomb.
> 
> remember I have no beta and I don't really proofread and its 230 am so have mercy on any mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it seems like I update once every 2 weeks. I try to update it on Monday/Tuesdays. This chapter is mostly light because I feel as if we need that. I especially. Life is rough and I sometimes don't want to write at all but I know a bunch of you guys love the story so I do my best to write something. I love you all and enjoy.
> 
> Oh, and I transcripted the texts and tweet @ that one person who said they have smth read the story to them. I only saw the comment recently so I'm transcribing it now. Okay now enjoy haha

“Winn, how do I deactivate this?” Kara knew the BetaHedron was in Kryptonian. Not even Winn would be able to stop the bomb that quickly.

“There’s no time! T-minus 3 minutes until the whole place explodes!” That was not good. Alex wasn’t able to get the place to evacuate so it was up to her, Supergirl, to do something. She had to get rid of the bomb somehow. But the Kryptonite, although a couple of feet away, was still eating at her. The only thing keeping her from succumbing to the pain was Alex’s strong grip on her.

“Hope, how far is the pier?” Why would Lena need to know that? Kara didn’t hear the AI’s response but she saw the Spider starting to web up the pod.

Alex slightly adjusted herself. “What are you doing?” Spider-Woman finished and strapped the pod to her back. Supergirl wanted to scream, to tell her to stop, but for some reason, her voice wasn’t working.

“Getting rid of the bomb, duh.” Without even glancing back, she ran off.

“Oh thank Rao,” Coville sighed. Kara’s eye ticked.

“Wait, Spider-Woman has the bomb? That thing can explode while it’s on your back!”

“Oh, really? Supergirl couldn’t fly it out of here. I’ve got to do this.” No, no, no!

Kara struggled to free herself from her sister. “L-Let me go, Alex. I have to save her!” Alex released her grip and grabbed the Kryptonite.

“Supergirl, it’s not safe for you to fly right now. I believe in Spider-Woman.”

“I need to help her, Alex. There’s no telling what could happen to her.” She wobbled to her legs and glared at Coville. “Make sure he gets taken care of,” she growled.

Supergirl flew through the wall and raced to the pier.

“Bombs away,” Lena joked. Kara was flying as fast as she could with the Kryptonite still in her veins. She had to reach Lena. She had to get there. Even from five miles away, she could see Spider-Woman’s body falling into the ocean.

“Lena!” With a surge of adrenaline, she shot off towards her girlfriend. Panic. She was panicking. Even though she was in the air, she felt like she was suffocating. Supergirl dove straight into the water and looked through the murky water for any sign of the metahuman. Even with her built-in night vision, she couldn’t spot the vigilante right away.

Supergirl’s head broke the surface to take a few breaths before going back down. The suit was black so that didn’t help and it was laced in lead so Kara couldn’t have been able to use her x-ray vision or super hearing to find her. It had been a minute already. Her anxiety skyrocketed. Deeper, she had to go deeper in case the suit had dragged her down into the ocean.

Kara was crying now. Why? She wasn’t entirely sure. She needed to find Lena. She knew humans, enhanced or not, couldn’t survive too long in the water. And with Lena’s PTSD…

Her ears picked up on a buzzing sound. She swam towards it and saw the glimmer of the golden accents on Lena’s suit. Spider-Woman was trying to reach her arms out. She was awake and fighting! Kara grabbed Lena gently and flew her into the air. Once they were in fresh-air, the top of the suit retracted to show Lena’s tear-stained face.

“Kara! You’re here, you saved me.” She was sobbing into the hero’s shoulder and Kara gripped her tightly to the point the suit cracked beneath her fingers.

“I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you. You’re okay. I saved you.” Kara used her cape to cover Lena’s unmasked face. “We’re going to get you fixed up, okay? I’ve got you, Lena. You’re okay.” She flew away to the lab so she could use the medbay. She didn’t notice the unconscious man on a boat not too far away, electricity encasing him.

Lena was trembling in cold or fear, Kara wasn’t sure. She kept her eyes closed tightly though it did nothing to stop the tears from escaping. Her face was covered in cuts and burns, her suit was somehow scorching hot even though it was submerged in the ocean, and there were some pieces of metal sticking out of her body.

“Alex, can you meet me at the L-Corp lab that’s at the edge of town?” Kara spoke into the earpiece. She was starting to lose altitude.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

The alien pushed herself to reach the lab. Once there, she made it to the basement level and set Lena down on a cot. Kara was by no means a doctor, but she knew everything there was to know about Lena’s spiderness and metahumans thanks to Caitlin. First thing first, she had to get the suit off of Lena.

“Lena, honey, could you take the suit off? Then I’ll give you a sedative to calm you down, okay?” The metahuman nodded and removed the suit. Kara grabbed the golden spider and placed it on the table. She grabbed a syringe that was labeled ‘Lena’s tranquilizer’ in Sam’s handwriting and injected it into her girlfriend. The metahuman stopped trembling.

Kara then started to hook the different machines up to her so she could keep an eye on that as she worked. She was bleeding from her wounds. Kara didn’t know how to stitch things up and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it to Lena’s body anyway, so she decided to leave that for Alex. What she could do, though, was take her blood to make sure nothing alien was introduced to her body.

Just as she finished filling the veils, Alex called to ask her where she was. Kara led her sister down to the secret base. She looked around in amazement before her eyes stopped on the patient. She washed her hands, put some gloves on, and went to work.

The face was the hardest part. Lena Luthor was a public figure so Alex was steady and careful, almost painfully so, when treating the burns. She had learned from one of the best plastic surgeons, so she knew exactly how not to leave a scar. She wrapped the CEO’s face once she was done and moved on. Taking out the shrapnel and stitching it up was child's play but she remained vigilant and careful in case her body threw any curveballs.

“I would like for her to get a CT to make sure there’s no brain damage or internal bleeding,” Alex spoke. She fixed what she could see, but that didn’t mean the Luthor’s internals weren’t affected. “She doesn’t happen to have a machine in here, would she?” She turned to her sister who looked like she was barely standing. “Kara, you really should get under the sunbed at the DEO.”

Kara’s eyes snapped up to her. “She doesn’t have a big machine like that, but she has a portable one. It’s still in the testing stages, but it works.” The alien stumbled over to the other side of the room and brought it to her sister. “She made me a sunbed here. When you’re done with her, can you wake me up?”

“No promises. You need to rest.” Kara frowned and looked at Lena with some sort of expression Alex couldn’t quite place. “I will text Maggie so she could ask Jess and Sam to be here, though. Deal?”

“Ask them to bring some food for when we wake up.” She waited for Alex to nod before dragging herself to the sunbed Alex had just noticed.

“Okay, Luthor. Let’s make sure you’re not going to die,” she muttered to herself after texting Maggie.

Besides an obvious concussion, everything looked normal, which Alex assumed was because of her powers. She hadn’t performed actual surgery in such a long time, much less by herself, so she nodded in victory at her patient’s prone figure. Lena really needed to have an actual doctor she could trust in case something worse happens. Maggie said they’d be over in about half an hour, so Alex took to exploring the secret lab.

The room was white. Lena was in the middle of it on the cot with different machines monitoring her. Walking in, on the right-hand side there was another door. On the left was a suit identical to the one Spider-Woman was wearing that day.  _ She must have backups _ , Alex thought. Next to the suit were two tables. Then on the wall opposite from the entry door had a bunch of vials, machines, and a computer. The sunbed was tucked into the corner of the room.

Alex walked over to one of the tables in curiosity. There were papers detailing Lena’s spider-powers and her physiology, which Alex briefly skimmed through. It was interesting to see how different the metahuman’s body had changed and it was obvious why Lena couldn’t go to a regular doctor. Her heart-beat and white blood cell count alone would raise a lot of questions.

Another table had what Alex assumed were Lena’s webs that she made from scratch. There were different jars filled with the white stuff though there didn’t seem to be a formula nearby. There was a web-shooter open on the table. Winn would absolutely freak over the piece of technology. Alex didn’t know a lot about technological things like this, but she knew it was complicated and took a genius to build it. There were some notes scrawled in messy cursive - Lena’s presumingly - and some in Kara’s handwriting. Alex picked the notes up and saw they were both trying to come up with sun grenades. If Kara was ever in trouble and needed an extra boost, they could activate one of those to give her the power of the sun. There were many different equations and crossed out notes so it seemed as if it was still a work in progress. Still, Alex was impressed they even came up with the idea.

There were other gadgets too, like web grenades and tiny, metallic spiders. She looked over them then decided to check out the other room. When she opened the door and switched the flip, the room was basked in red light. There were two punching bags, some mats, and a weight rack. The red light was synthetic red sun so Kara could spar. Lena really was a genius, not even Winn had come up with that idea. Alex would have to ask him to build one for the training facilities at the DEO.

She exited the room and sat in a chair to thoroughly read through the notes on Lena’s body. The spider bite changed Lena through a retrovirus, which made sense, but no one knew exactly what type of spider it was that bit her. She was allergic to cinnamon and peppermint and had a weakness for ethyl chloride. She had a higher HDL than normal, had blue blood, a double heartbeat, and she couldn’t thermoregulate. And she had… fangs? With black widow venom in them? Curiosity got the better of her.

Slowly, as if walking too fast would awaken Lena, Alex approached the Spider. Carefully, she pulled up on her lip and stared at the canines. Nothing looked to out of the ordinary so she bent forward to get a better look. As she did so, the door slammed open. Alex stumbled backward and reached for her gun only to lower it when she noticed it was Jess and Maggie.

“I know in fairy tales a true love’s kiss wakes them up, but you’re the wrong Danvers,” Maggie joked as she set down bags of take-out. “And you’re  _ my _ true love.”

Alex’s face warmed up. She put her gun on the table. “I was seeing if she really had, you know.” She smiled and gestured to her teeth.

“To see if she’s really a vampire?” Jess walked over to her boss. “Eve asked me if she was a vampire and I kinda just shrugged and said, “I signed a lot of NDA’s. If you don’t know everything, then I can’t tell you.” Pretty sure it freaked her out.”

Maggie cackled. “That’s hilarious, I love it.” She grabbed a trashcan and dragged it over to the right side of Lena’s bed. “So what happened this time? Whatever it was must’ve been big if it took them both out.” Jess just seemed to notice Kara laying in the bed.

“It all happened so fast.” Alex went on to explain about Corville and the bomb.

“And she’s fine? Nothing out of the ordinary?” Jess looked at Lena’s bandaged face. “If some of that alien stuff got in her, who knows what could happen.”

Alex shrugged. “I can’t really tell. She’ll have to wake up first.”

“Did she really have to get hurt on a weekday?” Jess complained. “Now I have to bs something to both Eve and James. She heals fast but I’m still making her take the next two days off of work.”

“That’s a good idea. Kara should be fine by morning, but since you’re already texting James…?” Alex trailed off.

“No problem. Sam said she’s going to come by tomorrow after work to check on Lena. I’ll work in the labs here tomorrow so I can pop in during my breaks.” At least Ivy was in the know. She wouldn’t be suspicious of Jess periodically disappearing.

“It’s always something with these two, isn’t it?” Maggie sighed. She pulled out a blanket from a compartment and placed it over the vigilante’s body. “Are you sure you want kids, Alex? The two are already giving me grey hairs.”

Alex cracked a smile at that. “If we can handle two superhero dumbasses, we can handle a mortal child,” she reasoned to her girlfriend. Maggie seemed to consider it.

“As long as they stay away from spiders.” She pulled out burgers from the Big Belly Burger bags. “Are we all taking the night shift?”

“I don’t mind staying since I’ll be here in the morning. I’ll have Pam drop off some clothes for me in the morning.”

“Coolio. I’ll interrogate Corville tomorrow and see if he’s hiding anything else.”

-

Kara woke up feeling refreshed. She wasn’t sore (which she usually was back at the DEO) and she felt … calm. She sat up and saw Lena was still unconscious. Opposite of her, Jess was fast asleep on the pullout bed.

“Hope, what time is it?”

“It is currently 5:34 a.m. Alexandra Danvers has excused you from work today. Boss is still in a deep sleep. Her vitals are strong and her injuries are healing nicely. I recommended a bandage change,” the AI dutifully reported.

“Bandage change - got it.” She glided over to the table (she didn’t want to risk waking Jess with her footsteps) and smiled at the note her sister left her. It reminded her to not go into work, how to rewrap the bandages on Lena’s face, and pointed out the leftovers by Jess.

The alien washed her hands and delicately changed the bandages. Lena had looked way better than a couple of hours prior. She had color in her skin again and the wounds were almost completely closed. After she finished wrapping each part, Kara placed a ginger kiss over the wound. Once she was completely done, she zoomed out to take a quick shower and a big breakfast for her and Jess.

She ate the leftover Big Belly Burger and the box of donuts she bought for herself happily. Needing something to distract herself, she decided to try and crack the code to the sun grenades.

  
  


_ [Supergirl - GirlofSteel] _

_ For everyone wondering, Spidey is okay and she’s on the way to recovery! <3 _

_ [Felicia - byefelicia] _

_ What happened this time! _

_ [Supergirl - GirlofSteel] _

_ There was a bomb. She tried to throw it out to sea but she was still caught in the explosion] _

-

Sam dropped her bag onto the table and slumped into the chair next to Lena. “She really loves her naps, doesn’t she?”

“It’s almost funny how in all the time I’ve known her, she hasn’t taken any days off. But now she takes a day off almost every other week because she can’t stay out of trouble.” Jess put down a draw four. “Blue.”

“Bitch,” Maggie tsked under her breath. “She wouldn’t have to pass out every single time if she’d sleep like a normal person. Her body tries to compensate for lost sleep time every time she has to heal from something major like this.”

Kara placed a skip card. “I’ve got you, Maggie.” Jess stuck her tongue out at the blonde. “Care to join us, Sam?” Sam looked at the three who were in a mini circle playing Uno.

“No thanks. Ruby beat me last week and I’m still salty about it.” 

“My name is Sam Arias and I lost Uno to a 12-year-old so now I don’t want to play,” Maggie mocked. Jess placed down her last card and cheered in joy.

“My name is Margarita Sawyer and I lost to Jess and I owe her $5,” Jess threw in her face. Maggie scowled and threw a five-dollar bill at the lab technician.

“No way.” Sam was desperately trying to hold back her laugh, she really was, but it was proving difficult. “Your name is Margarita? I thought it was Margaret!”

Maggie crossed her arms and glared at Jess. “My parents hated me even before I was born, okay. Jessica, you outed me to Samantha, just like that? How dare thy? ‘Tis the peak of betrayal. My heart rages with despair. My soul quakes with this unholy-”

“Okay, okay, I get it. You’re so dramatic.” Jess started to clean the cards up.

“I really like old English. I think it’s something we should bring back,” Kara suddenly said. They all turned to look at her. “What? English is my third language and I prefer it how it used to be. Like instead of saying ‘I’m heading to bed’ you can just say ‘I’m going bedward’. Or you know when your mouth is really dry? You can say ‘xerostomia’. Or, or-”

“You’re really passionate about this aren’t you?” Sam laughed. Kara eagerly nodded. “Do you have Lena recite Shakespeare to you? She has like, all of Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream memorized.”

“She does?” Kara supposed it made sense.

“Hamlet’s to be or not to be soliloquy is my favorite,” Lena spoke suddenly. Sam jumped from her chair in shock.

“How long have you been awake?” Sam placed a hand to her heart. Kara breezed over to her girlfriend.

“When you started laughing about Maggie’s name.” She tried to sit up but couldn’t quite make it. Kara and Sam helped her the rest of the way.

Sam winced. “Sorry about that. How are you feeling?”

“I feel… hot.” Lena touched her forehead and found she was running a little hot. “Do I have a fever?”

“I’ll check. Sam, get her to drink something, please?” Kara walked over to grab a theromenator. Sam grabbed a gatorade, opened it, and handed it to the vigilante.

“What’s your favorite gatorade flavor?” Maggie asked Lena. She’d be sure to leave some in her office to take on patrol for her.

The Spider chugged half the bottle then opened her mouth for the thermometer. “Blue or red, yellow on occasion, I’m not picky.”

“I said what flavor, not what color.”

“Uh, those are flavors?” Sam questioned.

“No, they aren’t?” Maggie made a face. “They are literally colors.”

Jess felt the need to defend Sam and Lena. “Well what’s your favorite flavor then?”

“Cool blue.”

“It literally has the name of the color in it!” Sam exclaimed. Kara took the thermometer out and frowned at the result.

“Only narcs call them by their government name,” Jess added.

Before the argument could escalate any further, Kara stepped in. “Lena has a fever. But this whole time she was sleeping, no fever.”

“Well, it’s not that odd, right? You said you’re feeling okay, Lena?” Sam asked her friend.

Lena nodded. “Yeah. I mean it does feel hot in here but-” she threw her head over the side of the bed and threw up in the trash can Maggie had placed there earlier.

“3 for 3,” the cop whispered to herself.

“Woah, okay, I’ve got you.” Kara sped to grab some wipes and handed it the Lena. “Let’s get some food in you to see if it’ll help, okay? What are you craving?”

“I don’t know, something cold. A sandwich, I guess.”

“I can go to Subway?” Sam offered. “I can pick Ruby up on the way back. She’s with Harry right now, I didn’t want her to get freaked out seeing you passed out like that.”

“Sounds like a good idea. Can we take all the bandages off now? They’re getting itchy.”

“Yeah of course.” Kara started to slowly unwrap them. “The skin is still tender and it will scar if you’re not careful. Alex recommends staying out of the sun until the baby skin is done growing on your face.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard for Ms. Vampire,” Maggie quipped.

Lena scoffed. “Oh, hush.” She flexed her fingers to try and get the tingling feeling to go away but it persisted. The quiet thrumming under her skin was unnerving. “So what happened after I knocked out? How long has it been?”

“It’s been roughly 19 hours,” Jess informed. “I told Eve and James you’d be working here for the next couple of days, which isn’t technically a lie. Ivy came down earlier to give you some herbs to speed up your already insanely quick healing factor. There was one other casualty. He’s in a coma at the hospital.”

“What hospital? What’s his condition like? Who is it?” Lena really tried to get as far away as possible. Yet she still managed to hurt someone.

As if sensing Lena about to spiral, Kara gently shook her arm. “Hey, it’s not your fault. If you didn’t move the bomb when you did, it would’ve killed hundreds of people in the stadium. You didn’t have much time to get rid of it either. His name is Maxwell Dillon and he’s staying at Paradise Valley. He shows symptoms of being struck by lightning and the power in his room goes in and out at times.”

“That’s odd.” Was it a coincidence? Or did the explosion do something to him? “I guess I didn’t make your suit resistant to Kryptonite like I thought. I’m going to start over again.”

Kara rolled her eyes. Lena had just woken up and she already wanted to do some type of work. “You can work on that tomorrow. While you were asleep, I was working on the sun grenades equations and…”

“Those two are such nerds,” Maggie whispered to Jess.

“Like we aren’t? You literally had me design a gun like a stormtrooper,” Jess deadpanned.

“Hey! They are tight as fuck and it’s not like you are going to make it operational. I’ll just hang it on the wall of my room.”

“Like that’s not literally the nerdiest shit ever?”

Kara and Lena continued to talk logistics about gadgets while Maggie and Jess argued over the pronunciation of caramel. Sam walked in and rolled her eyes.

“You two are almost as childish as Ruby,” Sam accused her friends.

“Almost? I take full offense to that. I am way more childish than her.” Maggie waggled her eyebrows and crossed her eyes.

“Why did Alex fall in love with you again?” Kara asked. Lena slapped her girlfriend’s arm.

“She could say the same about you.”

“Calm down children!” Sam shook her head with a smile. Her friends really were something else. “I brought food. I should’ve gotten your orders wrong just to spite you.”

Ruby grabbed two sandwiches and skipped over to Lena, handing the older woman hers. “The guy looked pretty annoyed with us for ordering a lot and being complicated about it. How are you doing, Auntie Lena? Mom said you blew up.” Ruby frowned and worriedly looked at the raw skin on Lena’s arms and face.

“I’m okay, mostly. Nothing hurts per say, but I do feel tingly and warm.” She started to unwrap the sandwich wrapper. “Who babysat you today?”

“Felicia. She was helping me with my French. The high school I’m going to go to offers it and I want to try and make a good impression on everyone.”

“We learned it together in college, did she tell you?” That was the class they actually met each other in. Ruby nodded. “Harry learned it by himself out of spite. Felicia and I would fli-” she coughed- “talk to each other and it bothered him to no end because he wanted to be involved in the conversation.”

Ruby smirked. “He learned a language to cock-block you two?”

“Ruby!” Lena nudged the kid with her foot. “Where’d you learn that? And he just wanted to make sure she wouldn’t break my heart.”

“Maggie calls me a cockblock when I’m with her and Auntie Alex sometimes,” Ruby said innocently.

“Of course she does.” 

It was approaching 9 p.m. when Maggie called it a night. Everyone was cleaning up when Lena sat straight up, rimrod still. Something was itching at Lena, the tingling had come back tenfold. Her shoulders tensed, and her spider-sense tingled as she sneezed. When she sneezed, webbing came out of her (that had only happened twice) along with a string of electricity. Her body seized as more electricity encased her.

Kara approached her but was jolted by it. “Everyone stay back!” Within a couple of seconds, Lena’s body stopped its fit and settled in place.

“What the fuck?” Maggie broke the silence.

“Is she okay?” Ruby wanted to rush to her side but Sam was holding her back.

“I don’t know.” Tentatively, Kara walked towards Lena. “Lena? Are you okay?”

Lena groaned and held her head. “What the hell was  _ that _ ?” She took Kara’s outstretched hand to help her sit up but the alien was shocked once again. “Hope? What’s happening to me?”

A blue beam scanned her body and projected the findings onto the wall. “It appears you have acquired a new power, Boss. The cell membranes have become thinner, more ion channels have opened up, and the positive charges are now greater than the negative ones.”

“That’s not possible. If I have more positive charges, shouldn’t it have stopped my heart?”

“Theoretically, yes. Although if we follow that line of reasoning, the Black Widow venom should have also killed you since there is a large amount of it in your body,” Hope helpfully supplied.

Kara stepped up to the projection. “Wait, I’ve seen something similar to this.” She stared at the numbers for a while contemplating something. “I’m assuming you can’t control it?”

Lena looked down at her hands then at her friends. “No. And I’ve already shocked Kara. I don’t want to accidentally hurt any of you.”

“I think I have a solution to that.” The alien smiled and the others looked at her in confusion. The Kryptonian didn’t have electrical powers or anything similar to it. “Remember Livewire? She owes me a favor, I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to help you out!”

“Wait. You know where Livewire is? You know we’ve been looking for her!” Maggie exasperated.

Kara had the decency to look somewhat guilty. “I know, but she saved my life and went straight so I figured I’d leave her alone…”

“If she can help me, then I’m all for it,” Lena piped up. “And if you can turn a blind eye to Black Cat, then you can turn a blind eye to Livewire. Please?”

“Fine. But only because she’s going to be helping you.” The detective crossed her arms. “For a cop, I have a lot of criminal friends.”

“Like you aren’t just as much of a criminal as they are,” Jess poked fun of.

“So you’re just going to tell her your Spider-Woman or what?” Ruby asked.

Lena seemed to contemplate that. A lot of people knew her secret identity already and she wasn’t keen on someone she didn’t know being in on the secret. Though, her spider suits had a lot of technology in them and she wouldn’t want to electrocute herself by wearing it. She had some rough sketches for an insulated suit in case she ever had to fight Livewire and this seemed as good time as any to build it.

“We’ll go to her as our superhero personas. Hope, I think it’s time to create the insulation suit.”

The lights brightened. “Of course. Everything will be delivered at your house by 9:01 a.m.”

“Are you sure you should be going home?” Sam questioned. “You won’t accidentally, I don’t know, catch it on fire or something?”

Lena rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine. As long as I don’t touch anyone.”

“So that means no cuddles?” Kara pouted. Lena hadn’t thought about that.

“I don’t want to shock you, darling…”

“It doesn’t hurt!” Kara promised. “It tickles!” Perhaps so but Lena didn’t want to risk it.

“I’ll be fine, my love. I’ll build the suit as fast as I can so we can meet your friend and figure this out, okay?”

“Okay…” Kara was upset at being denied cuddles, but she understood the reasoning behind it. “Can I at least fly you home? It’s less than five seconds from here.”

The vigilante considered it and chose to throw her a bone. “Okay. But we’ll wait until everyone leaves so we don’t hurt them.”

The group went upstairs and parted ways. Once the cars were a block away, Kara scooped Lena up and flew towards her house all while being electrocuted.

“Okay, okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.” Lena dropped from the superhero’s arms. Her girlfriend nodded and gave a quick kiss goodbye before flying off to her apartment. Lena trudged upstairs and fell asleep almost right away.

_ [Felicia: You know cats are the ones with nine lives, not spiders. _

_ Lena: I’m aware. _

_ Felicia: iM aWaRe _

_ Are you okay though? _

_ L: For the most part, yeah. There are some side effects that I’m trying to figure out. _

_ F: Do you need anything? I’ll be happy to sneak into LCorp for you ;) _

_ L: My security would eat you alive. Not even you would be able to sneak in. _

_ F: Is that a challenge? _

_ L: Felicia, no. You will get arrested and I won’t bust you out.] _

-

Lena finished the suit by the time Kara got off work. Hope wasn’t programmed into it nor did it have reactive eye lenses - she wanted as little technology in it as possible. She didn’t even have web-shooters. Instead, there was a small slit so Lena could use her natural webbing. It’d be the first time she’d use it purposefully during a fight and she was low-key interested in what the results would be.

Supergirl came to pick Spider-Woman up and dropped her off in the countryside. A minute later she returned with a grumpy white-haired woman.

“You must be Livewire.” Spider-Woman offered her hand.

Leslie stared at it. Then at the Spider. Then back at the hand. She shook it.

“So you’re the one who stole her heart, eh?” Livewire walked a slow circle around the Wall-Crawler. “You don’t seem like much.”

Lena subconsciously stood up straighter. “Have you not kept up with the news? I’m pretty impressive. I’ve stopped Mysterio, aliens, Sandman, Vulture, Psi, and Doctor Octopus. Not to mention the car thieves, bank robbers, and drug dealers.” She honestly wasn’t one to brag, but she had been through a lot in a short time and she was proud of her victories.

Leslie shrugged and crossed her arms. “I could’ve done that too, piece of cake. I just can’t believe Miss Sunshine and Hope settled on you. I mean, even Lena Luthor would’ve been a better choice.” Lena’s jaw clenched as she stepped towards the vigilante. Supergirl was awkwardly standing off to the side unsure if she should step in or not.

“Oh, really? You think you could’ve done better? I nearly died a couple of times!” She felt hot. As if her anger was coursing through her.

Livewire still seemed unbothered by the Spider’s closeness or her rising anger. “What? You mad, bro?” She smirked. Lena saw white. Her hands crackled with electricity as she pulled back to punch the woman. Leslie caught the fist and was unnerved by the behavior. She studied the fist in her hand. “Impressive, Web-Head. This is some strong stuff.” The blue electricity was absorbed into the white-haired vigilante.

Spider-Woman dropped her hand and stumbled back. “Woah. I’m sorry about that, I-I don’t know what came over me.” Anger wasn’t a new emotion to Lena. It was an old friend, in fact. But she hardly ever gave in to the temptations to act on it.

“It’s okay, I was making you mad on purpose.” Supergirl face-palmed. “I just wanted to see what I’m working with. And it’s kinda fun.”

“Are you going to help her or not?” The Super asked as she walked closer to them.

“Yeah. I kinda owe you one or whatever.” Leslie picked off imaginary lint from her leather jacket. “Lightning is hot. It’s quick and dangerous and it strikes wherever it wants to. All of that electricity in you - in us - it’s reactive to our emotions. If you’re not careful with your anger, it’s going to jump out unexpectedly. It thrums beneath the skin almost silently waiting to be released and will do so at any opportunity. If you’re anxious or stressed, it’s going to buzz and make you tingle. Do your powers react with your emotions?”

Lena took a second to take in what Leslie was saying and then another to think about it. “Yeah. When I get startled, I tend to jump to things. Or, when I’m anxious, my heightened senses get worse.”

“So I’m guessing you can deal with the emotional part of it by yourself?” She glanced over to Supergirl. “I’m just teaching you how to physically use it then, yeah? I hope you’re a quick learner ‘cuz I have plans later.”

Spider-Woman rolled her eyes from inside the mask. “You have better things to do than to help out National City’s heroes?”

“Uh, yeah. Now come on, take the gloves off.”

The trio stayed practicing until a little past sundown. Leslie was surprisingly helpful, though she was pretty condescending. Lena was doing her best to follow Leslie’s instructions while Kara was shouting encouragements. She felt like she had a good grasp on the power, but they definitely would have to meet up again.

“As long as Supergirl is here again, I’ll help.” Leslie shrugged on the jacket she took off an hour prior.

“Why? I didn’t even do anything.”

“Has anyone told you how good your thighs look in that suit?” Spider-Woman’s head swung towards the vigilante. “Woah, calm down, Itsy Bitsy. I’ve got a hot date right now, I’m not trying to steal your girl. Just admiring the art.” She winked and Kara’s face started to burn.

“Come on Leslie, let’s go.”

“I’m just checking her temper is all!” She teased. Lena took a deep breath and felt the electricity under her skin crawl while her hairs on her arm rose. She wasn’t really kidding about that.

Supergirl came back and flew them both home. “How about I cook dinner for us tonight? Does stir fry sound good?” She was skimming through her fridge and pulling out ingredients.

“Sounds delicious. I can’t wait to see how much you’re cooking has improved, Ms. Danvers.”

Kara smiled at her. “I need to pick some things up real quick. Do you want anything?”

Lena took the mask and her gloves off. “I’m craving some boba for whatever reason. Oh, and could you grab my phone while you’re out, darling? If it’s not too much of a hassle, of course.”

“You’re never a hassle, babe. I’ll be back in a jiffy!” Kara kissed Lena’s cheek then dashed out. The metahuman waltzed into Kara’s room and stripped from the suit. Since it had no technology, she was to shimmy herself out of it. This by far was her least favorite suit.

Down to just a pair of boxers (she threw the sports bra off too), she rummaged through her girlfriend’s drawer and pulled out a shirt with the House of El crest on it. She then grabbed a pair of grey joggers. Once dressed, she wandered to the couch and turned on the tv to watch the news. Her ears perked up when Supergirl flew into the room. The alien threw the phone towards the couch and, without looking, Lena caught it.

“Thanks, love. Would you like help with dinner?” 2 missed calls from Andrea. Hmm.

“Nope! I’ve got it, you keep resting.” Lena hummed in acknowledgment and dialed Andrea back.

“Was wondering when you’d call back,” Andrea scoffed. “I’ve been trying you all day.”

“Don’t be such a drama queen, Andrea. It was only 2 missed calls.” The corner of Lena’s lips turned upward. Some things never changed. “You know how I get when I’m working.”

She heard the other woman chuckle. “That I do,  cariño .” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I thought about your offer and talked to my board. Obsidian North will be expanding to the States very soon.”

“Andrea!” She hissed. “That is not even remotely closed to what I asked you!”

“I know, I know. But we’ve honestly been thinking about this for a long time now. Father said he trusts me enough to branch out so far from home. Plus, it’d be easier for the patient, wouldn’t you think?”

From a business point of view, Lena did understand. The company would receive a lot more attention and National City was no stranger to the rich. She sighed.

“You do know I’m in a happy, committed relationship, right? There is no chance if you’re trying to reconnect romantically.” Lena wanted to make sure Andrea was making the decision for the right reason. Love made people do funny things. After all, she did spend $75 million on a company for Kara.

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been keeping tabs on you.” That was a surprise. “If you honestly don’t want me in National City, I’ll be happy to move to Metropolis instead.”

“No, no, it’s fine. It’d be good to see you again, Andy.” Andrea may have broken her heart, but they were best friends for years. “You jump, I jump, right?”

Andrea laughed, loud and light. “God, I can’t believe you remember that.” Lena could hear the smile in her voice. “You jump, I jump. I still have to plan out the logistics and find a suitable building, but Doctor Octavius will be our very first patient once we’ve settled. You have my word.”

“Thank you, Andrea. Truly. When you move here, I can introduce you to my girlfriend and some friends over dinner if you’d like.”

“I’m sure that’ll be fun. I do have to get going though, it is kind of the middle of the night here.” Lena looked at the time then realized Argentina was hours ahead. She winced. She hadn’t thought of that.

“Right, sorry. Goodnight. Keep me updated.”

“Will do. Goodnight, hermosa.” The line disconnected. Lena sat and stared at the screen unseeingly.

“Kara, babe, you’re gonna meet another one of my ex-girlfriend’s soon.” She pocketed her phone and walked to the kitchen.

“Another one?” Kara grinned. “Is it weird having all of your ex’s in the same city?”

“Kind of,” she admitted. “Doesn’t matter, though. You’re the only one who has my attention.” She sat on a stool and watched Kara cook. “Did you and Leslie ever… you know?”

The blonde squeaked in surprise at the question and whipped around to look at Lena with wide eyes. “W-What? W-Why would you ask such a thing?”

Kara was a terrible liar. “I mean, it’d explain why she was trying to undress you with her eyes.” Kara’s heart rate picked up. She turned back around. “It’s okay if you guys did, I’m only curious. If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to, either.”

Kara stayed quiet. Lena took her phone back out and started to check her emails. Eve had been forwarding her the important stuff. Since it was the beginning of a new month, Sam would be sending her a ton of stuff she’d have to look at. James also sent her a text asking if she’d be at CatCo or if he should postpone the meetings. She replied saying that she’d be there. She did have the new power mostly under control, anyway.

“Leslie and I had sex once or twice,” Kara spoke as she plated the food. “It was a stress relieving thing.”

“Like what I had with Sam,” Lena acknowledged. “Well, if you want, she’s more than welcome to join us in the bedroom.” To make matters worse, Lena bit her lip and winked.

“You’re the worst,” Kara groaned as her face grew red.

“You love me.”

“That, I do.”

The two ate dinner while Lena kept teasing her girlfriend. It was a happy night to end a hard-working day.

_ [Spidey - NCWallCrawler] _

_ The Iron Spider is by far my favorite suit _

_ [picture of Iron Spider kicking ass] _

_ [Mags - detectivesawyer] _

_ You name your suits? Nerd _

_ [Spidey - NCWallCrawler] _

_ no u _

_ [image of uno verse card] _

-

Wilson Fisk sat at his desk with his fingers steepled in front of his face. It was agonizing starting all over again. The low life criminals hadn’t heard of him so they weren’t afraid. Sure he managed to hire some goons, but no one  _ feared _ him.

“Mr. Fisk? I think I have something that may catch your attention.” One of his workers set a file on the desk. “Someone was caught in the cross-fire from an alien explosion. Reports show that he can manipulate electricity, but no one is sure how to help him without being harmed. It seems as if he’s a metahuman.”

That definitely did catch the Kingpin’s attention. He motioned for the man to continue.

“We can have him transferred to our lab and run experiments on him. Once he’s functional, you could have a fully functional metahuman on our hands. He’ll be your weapon.” Fisk’s grin grew shark-like. He liked the sound of that.

“See to it that it happens, then.”

“Yes, sir.”

Wilson knew when to bid his time. This would be the first of many trials he’d put against Spider-Woman. He needed strong opponents to take her down, but until then, he’d work with the Daily Bugle to try and discredit her in the eyes of the people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might not have been that great of an update, but I updated. Things are rough yanno so I hope everyone is doing well and taking care of themselves. It's currently 2:50 so obviously I'm bad at taking care of myself haha but I hope y'all are doing fine. And if any of u are 2020 graduates, congratulations! I'm very proud of u. 
> 
> What have been your favorite scenes throughout the story so far? Favorite character interactions? I live off of feedback so let me know haha. 
> 
> Tell me why I lowkey ship Livewire and Black Cat sksksksk
> 
> I figured out the characters birthdays! Check it out [here.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22890730/chapters/58767814) I'll probably stop linking [my tumblr](https://timelords-angel-is-sherlocked.tumblr.com/) cuz I think you get it. I can always use some friends if you wanna check out my [twitter](https://twitter.com/dr_halfblood). I added new songs to the [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3u4wox2zAJV1uhqZ5TaQ3q?si=315thuuNQMioIGswNf2DqA) if you wanna give that a listen. And ofc the youtube thing I made for the story [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9WQHWa8ho4nmgHLiFTHOOVH7RC0E57wc). I think that's everything lmao.


	22. A Shocking Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week in Lena's life as she navigates getting used to her new powers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And a HUGE thank you to my [beta reader](https://confusinggemini612.tumblr.com/) who helped me through my writer's block and encouraged me to continue writing!
> 
> The Twitter posts are kind of lame because the app I usually use doesn't work anymore and I haven't found a new program I like yet. Hopefully, it's fixed by the next chapter.

“Ms. Luthor? What do you think?” Lena startled so bad her fingers sparked under the table.

“Mr. Olsen, I think it is a great idea. The question is, will we have enough time to get everything ready to publish by the end of the week next week?” She asked smoothly.

James looked to the heads of the departments & a majority of them nodded. “I can interview you today and send someone to Mr. Fisk’s office easily. What I think we’re worried about is Spider-Woman’s reputation. Do you think she’ll agree to the interview? The Daily Bugle is doing anything they can to discredit her and, as her representors, we can’t allow that.”

“I’ll have Spider-Woman swing by your apartment tomorrow night after patrol. With that settled, let’s talk about finances. I’m thinking of raising the budget…”

For the rest of the meeting, Lena fought to control her new power. Livewire wasn’t kidding when she said the electricity would want to find a way out. It started to get uncomfortable to the point where Lena was debating running out and releasing the energy out of her.

The meeting was adjourned and one by one, people started to leave. Lena stayed behind pretending to read the document in front of her. Her ears started to ring and the hairs in her nose were tingling.

“Ms. Luthor, I need you to get me an interview with one of the Osborns.” Snapper Carr sauntered over to the CEO and threw down a document “I’m pretty sure what they’re planning is borderline illegal so I want to see for myself what exactly they are up to.”

He pulled out a flyer and rested it on top of the folder. It was plain and simple. It was asking for male volunteers between the ages of 20-25. A phone number was listed but nothing else. Not why volunteers were needed for or the purpose of the experiment. There was a money incentive, though.

The air started to crackle.

“I saw one of Oscorp’s employees hanging these around town." Snapper continued, oblivious to the odd tension in the air and Lena’s discomfort. “I called and went through extensive questioning. What I can gather is that they are looking for people on the low-rent side of town, people who wouldn’t be missed. They gave an address to a lab and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but I have a gut feeling about this one.”

Lena nodded her head. In truth she was half-listening. She was mostly focused on not blowing up, which was proving difficult since her Spider-Sense was starting to act up, too. “Very well, Mr. Carr. I’ll speak to Harry and find out what I can on the matter. If that will be all.” she tilted her head to the exit.

The reporter huffed and started to gather his papers “You know, I have a gut feeling about you too, Lena Luthor. There’s something suspicious about you. If I wasn’t chasing the story of a lifetime, I’d be checking you out. Ponytail might be oblivious to it, but you’re hiding something.”

“I can assure you, Mr. Carr, that I-” she tensed and felt the hair on her body raise in alertness.

Something was wrong. The air currents were shifting quickly. Something flew into the window and, because of the pent up electricity that had been building in her for over an hour, she let out a shock wave. The lights flickered until eventually the whole floor ran out of power. Lena looked to the window and noticed it was a pigeon that had caused the disturbance. A pigeon.

Because of her built-in night vision, she was able to see Snapper’s reaction perfectly. He took off his glasses and stared at Lena with wide, disbelieving eyes. People started murmuring to each other in panic.

“It must’ve hit an electrical line. I should go check in with James and make sure it was just this floor.” Lena grabbed her things and rushed out of the room “Hope?”

“On it, Boss.” by the time the vigilante reached the elevators, the power was back on “You short-circuited the entire floor. I was able to reset the lines. Nothing of importance was disturbed.”

Lena gripped her documents and rushed up the stairs at a non-human pace. Once she reached the top floor, Kara’s concerned eyes found her immediately.

“What’s wrong?” the CEO put the papers down on her girlfriend’s desk then dragged said girlfriend outside “Lena, what happened? James said the floor you were just on lost power for about a minute then mysteriously came back on. Are you okay?” the blonde looked her girlfriend up and down with and without her glasses just to double check.

“I’m fine. I just… something weird happened.” she went on to explain the pent up energy and accidentally blowing the power out.

“I’ll call Leslie tonight and see if we can have another meet-up tomorrow. I think she works on Saturdays so we’re probably going to have to wait until her shift is over. Do you want me to fly you home right now?”

“No, no. I told James I’d let him interview me.” Lena sighed and slumped into her girlfriend’s arms since they were out of sight “I don’t think I can handle another change to my body. It’s overwhelming.”

Kara held onto her girlfriend tightly “I know what you mean. James wants me to interview Fisk. Are we sure we’re ready to start putting our plan into action?”

“Yeah.” Lena pulled back from the hug and held Kara’s hand instead “This way you build a relationship with him. You can also x-ray around the building and see what you can find. See if there’s anything to warn us about.”

“Good idea.” Kara kissed Lena’s knuckles “Are you ready to go back in? I can take you on a quick flight if you need me to.”

“No, it’s okay, darling. I think I’ve got it under control now.”

Kara kissed the top of Lena’s head then disentangled their hands. Lena walked back in first while Kara lingered behind for a minute. The businesswoman grabbed her things and set them on her desk before entering James’s office.

“Are you okay, Lena? You seem a little pale?” James stood up from his desk and poured two glasses of water. He placed them on coasters as he sat across from Lena on the couch.

Lena drank from the cup “I’m fine. I’ve been spending time inside the offices so much, I don’t think I remember what the sun looks like.”

“No rest for the wicked, eh?” James chuckled as he grabbed his notepad “Are you ready or do you need another minute?”

Lena closed her eyes and took a deep breath, centering herself as she did so “Alright, Mr. Olsen. What do you want to know about L-Corp’s business deal with Mr. Fisk?”

The interview took nearly an hour since they were interrupted fairly often by Betty Brant giving important updates. Lena felt tense as the same feeling from earlier was building up in her. She texted Kara she’d be at the lab before heading to the roof and changing into her newest suit (which was crammed into her briefcase).

Lena flexed her fingers in the insulated suit. The suit was obviously a different material than what she was used to. She took her earpiece that she always kept on out and placed it into the briefcase. She didn’t want it to get damaged in case her powers glitched again.

Standing on the edge of CatCo’s roof, Lena felt oddly anxious. This would be the first time she would use her organic webbing for swinging. She knew it would be able to sustain her weight, but it wasn’t something she was used to.

Before she could second guess herself, Spider-Woman jumped off the roof.

Somehow, the rushing wind and adrenaline spike calmed her nerves. Lena easily calculated the height and distance of the point she wanted to attach to. She reached her arm out and shot out her webbing. It flew out significantly slower than what she was used to. Spider-Woman almost became a squashed bug on the side of Lord Industries.

She just managed to not shatter through the glass windows. Her webs shot slower than the mechanical ones. That made sense. She shot another long string of fluid into the air and counted how long it took to reach the building across from her. As she was about to jump off to try again, a knocking sound caught her attention.

A woman - in her mid to late 20’s if Lena had to guess - pulled up the sleeve to show a tattoo of Spider-Woman’s original spider emblem. The woman then mouthed ‘I am a huge fan’. Lena was mildly taken aback by this. She knew she had fans, but for someone to ink her emblem on themselves? She webbed the briefcase to the window and gestured taking a picture. The woman seemed to get the message.

It was a bit awkward for Lena to pose on the window but she did her best as the woman took the photo. The woman tagged the NCWallCrawler’s account and blew a kiss in thanks. Spidey tossed a thumbs up before grabbing her case and swinging away. She’d be sure to repost the photo later.

Swinging on her own reserves was actually tiring. By the time Lena made it to the lab where Ivy was working, she was feeling exhausted.

“Fancy seeing you here, Spider.” Spider-Woman froze on top of the botanical garden and peered down.

Felicia was sitting on a chair with her feet propped on a table that had some notes on them. She was idly flipping through a magazine as if this were a normal occurrence.

The Web-Head crawled to an opening on the green house’s roof and hopped down “What are you doing here, Cat? Last I remember, you weren’t a fan of plants.”

Before Lena became estranged with her family, she had brought Felicia home so she could meet Lex and Lillian. Lillian took to her because of Felicia’s thirst for ambition. Lex didn’t care for her and told Lena that their relationship wouldn’t last. She hated that he was right about that.

To try and be romantic, Lena took her girlfriend into the hedge maze in the mansion’s backyard. All was going well until they got lost. A hungry and tired Felicia was a cranky Felicia. Not to mention the older woman got a rash in a very unpleasant place from an activity they may have participated in. So, yeah, anything that reminded the thief of that experience, she tried to avoid.

“That may have been true for the past me, but I don’t seem to mind them now. Did you know that peaches, pears, apricots, quinches, strawberries, and apples are a part of the rose family?” Felicia asked incredulously. “Strawberries and apples, Lena,” she emphasized quietly.

“Can’t say that I did know that,” she answered truthfully, “but seriously, what are you doing here?” technically, Felicia wasn’t allowed to be there since it was L-Corp owned property. But they both knew that it didn’t matter. If the squad wanted to use the garden as a hangout space, they’d have to take that up with Ivy, not Lena.

“Waiting for Pam to get off work. She’s nearly done. At least, that’s what she told me before telling me to wait here.” Lena heard the slight tick of Felicia’s heart increase at the name of the scientist “What are you doing here dressed like that?”

Lena decided not to pry into her friend’s business “I left some blueprints here for gadgets that I want to work on at home.”

“Nerd." the blonde snorted “Hey, have you talked to Harry recently?”

“No, why?”

“He sent me a very cryptic text this morning telling me to stay away from Oscorp. He knew I was planning on testing Norman’s security, but he’s never stopped me before. Is something happening?”

So Snapper was right. Oscorp could be up to some foul play “I think they’re moving onto human trials with their genetic mutation project. If Black Cat is spotted, not even Maggie could save you from Norman’s wrath. He’s a very private man and he’s protective of his work.”

She seemed to weigh the pros and cons “Okay, fair point. But, were you serious about not bailing me out if I get caught trying to break into L-Corp? Your security is so tight and I just want to give it a go. I mean, you are practically more secure than the government - especially since you add your own layer of cybersecurity.” She licked her lips.

Lena rolled her eyes in the mask “Your hacking skills aren’t even on my level, _minou_. Pam’s coming, I’ll catch you later.” The Wall-Crawler hopped onto the ceiling and out the hole, waving to the green metahuman as she left. She went down into the lab, grabbed the designs, and swung home with her wrists aching.

“Welcome home, Boss. You seem drained. I recommend taking a rest as your web reserves are lower than normal, your muscles are tensed more so than usual, and your heart rate is elevated.”

“Nothing some lab time can’t fix, right?” Lena did feel a little tense and heavy but besides that, she felt fine. Honestly.

The lights dimmed “I recommend eating and drinking plenty of water before heading into the lab.”

“Okay, I got the message loud and clear, Hope.” Lena chuckled “I’m just going to get changed first.”

It was half-past two when Lena finally got into her lab. She still felt weighted and a bit tired, but she was determined to make sure Kara’s suit was Kryptonite proof. She’d work in the lab until she was kicked out if she had to. Nothing was going to stop her from getting it done.

Nothing except for herself, apparently.

Whenever Lena got frustrated, sparks would shoot from her fingertips into the nearest conductor. It didn’t help that she was surrounded by copper, silver, and steel on all sides. The room was so electrically charged that the light turned on without the light switch. Then, the lights in the entire house turned on by themselves. Lena was afraid she might accidentally blow something up. The static electricity made all her hairs stand up. She looked like a troll.

“You could theoretically never pay for electricity bills again if you keep this up, Boss!” Hope snickered (well, as close as an AI could).

“You’re making jokes, but you might be onto something.” Lena stored the Kryptonite away and started discharging the room. It was clear she wasn’t going to get any work done with her situation.

After taking a quick shower to try and tame her hair, Lena fell right to sleep. Which was odd since she never took naps, but her body was exhausted despite the early time. She didn’t mind. Instead, she happily let sleep overcome her.

Lena woke up at 5:30 to a handful of messages and a voicemail from Kara. She clicked on the voicemail first.

“Good morning, sleepyhead! Hope told me what happened right after you fell asleep. Leslie says she’ll be available at 5, if that works for you. Last night on patrol, I saw the cutest little puppy ever. I took a picture and sent it to you but oh my Rao Lena, I honestly considered adopting it right then and there. It was a baby golden retriever and-” Lena happily listened to her girlfriend go on in detail about the little animal. When they didn’t sleep together, they called each other in the morning to hear each other's voices. It may have been cheesy, but it was the best part of Lena’s day “I’ve got to go - I love you!”

Lena smiled softly and hugged the phone to her chest. She’d never get tired of hearing Kara say that she loved her. After catching up on everything, Lena went down to the kitchen to have breakfast.

“Miss Quinn will be coming by today at 1 for your session.”

Lena hummed in acknowledgment as she prepared her tea. That’s right - she had an appointment with Harley.

It wasn’t a secret that Lena opposed therapy for herself. The thought of opening up to a complete stranger and having them judge her was intimidating. Yes, intimidating. However, that wasn’t a problem with Harley.

Harley knew what she was doing. When she felt that the CEO was getting self-conscious and starting to close off, Harleen Quinzel would switch right back to Harley Quinn to remind Lena that nothing she said would be as fucked up as anything the former princess of crime did. It was oddly reassuring to not feel like a complete freak when her shrink was just as messed up as she was.

The sessions for the first half were serious and straight to the point. Lena wasn’t completely comfortable talking everything out, but she at least was able to get the superheroing pressure off her chest. Though, each session Harley was pushing more and more for Lena to open up about Lex and her past. She was persistent and determined but knew when to back off it was too much. Last week, Lena mentioned him and that was considered a win. After the serious stuff was talked about, the two would gossip for a bit and Lena would inquire about Harley's latest escapades (she was always up to something). And somehow, Lena found herself not minding the sessions and somewhat looking forward to them.

The metahuman was feeling extra hungry so she decided for a big breakfast. She turned some music on and got to cooking.

“Lex Luthor?” Harley asked as she plopped onto the couch.

Lena raised an eyebrow “No.”

Harley shrugged - she clearly expected that answer “I’ve been doing some readings on all you’ve done as Spider-Woman. You’ve accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. How do you feel about that?”

“It feels… empowering? I wasn’t sure I was going to be good at the whole superhero thing, but looking back at what I managed to do, it feels satisfying. Those were my defeats and my wins. Supergirl didn’t need to help me, those were my victories.”

The clown princess nodded and wrote down notes (usually that made Lena nervous but she peeked one time to see what her therapist was writing and laughed in relief. Harley’s notes were 3% about what they were talking about, 50% stuff that was going on in her head, and 47% doodles) “You mentioned your defeats as something to be proud of. Do you mind if we talk about some of them?” Lena nodded “Ivy was telling me about this one methuman - Psi or something. It’s like if Scarecrow had powers, right? What was your experience with that?”

Lena frowned. That experience was tucked in a teeny tiny box in the back of her head “Her powers are to show one their greatest fear.” She fidgeted with the stress ball “I saw myself as a murderer.” she then untucked her feet from under her and moved them in front of her.

Sensing her patient starting to close off, Harley decided to intervene “I’ve killed plenty of people before. It was either because Mistah Jay told me to or because I was in danger of dying myself. Isn’t that selfish of me? Killing for an abusive man who didn’t love me and for myself?” she shrugged as if she didn’t really care for an answer “If I could kill the Joker, you bet your ass I would. Sometimes I dream of torturing him for days, give him a taste of what he did to me. Do you have dreams like that?”

“No…”

“‘Course you don’t, you’re sane! So why’d you kill em, Lena? Were they hurting people? I know you wouldn’t kill to save yourself.”

“Well, the first guy, John Corben was trying to kill Supergirl. He had an innocent woman held hostage - which I later found out was Alex. I shot him in the back point-blank. Jack Spheer wasn’t even himself anymore. He was being mind-controlled and his whole body had been taken over by nanobots. He nearly killed Kara but I ended it before he could. Then, on a different Earth, I killed Nazis who were also from a different Earth.” Lena dropped her knees but covered herself with the quilt Sam had knitted for her.

(Knitting was Sam’s newest hobby. She’d often be knitting a scarf during phone calls in the office. As a joke, she offered to knit Spider-Woman a new costume. Lena cringed at the thought of wool all over her body like that)

“So you’ve killed a lot. It doesn’t seem like it drags you down. So why is that your worst fear and not your brother? I know a thing or two about abuse and I know he did a number on you whether you know it or not.”

Lena closed her eyes. She really would rather talk about anything else than this. The air grew heavy.

“I don’t think it was specifically about me being a murder, but of me turning into Lex.” She hadn’t realized how true that was until she actually said it out loud.

“And you don’t want to turn into Lex because…”

“Are you kidding me?” Lena’s heart sped up and her fingers started to spark again. “He’s a psychotic murderer who tried to turn the sun red to kill Superman. Of course I don’t want to be him! I don’t want anything to do with him - I hate him!”

“Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?” Harley deadpanned. But, this was the most Lena had ever talked about her family so far. “What’s so different about Lex and I? How can you be my friend but hate him so much?”

“Because he lied to me!” A wave of electricity shot out of Lena’s body. Harley barely had enough time to dive under the coffee table for protection. “He said he was going to keep us safe forever! He promised!”

Lena was full of white-hot rage. The lights inside the house were flickering.

“Lex promised he was going to keep us safe, he promised he’d take care of me. But he left when I needed him the most. Then, Mercy was there for me and I felt safe again but he drove her away, too! Then he tried to kill Superman and that ruined my life!” Harley could feel the static electricity and was debating on whether she should make a run for it. “He made me the second most hated person on Earth for something I didn’t even do. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he’s tried to kill me. He sent mercenaries after his own sister! He lied to me. And the worst part is, I still love him.”

The intensity of everything died down. The air was back to normal and the lights remained off. Harley poked her head out to see if it was safe. Lena had her knees to her chest, arms circling around them to keep her closed off. She probably didn’t even notice anything happened.

“It would’ve been nice if someone told me you had new powers that responded strongly with your emotions,” Harley muttered as she sat back on the couch.

The metahuman closed in tighter on herself. “I’m sorry.”

Harleen sighed. This was going to take a while.

It was a quarter till 5 and Lena felt absolutely drained. They had talked for hours and it was the most vulnerable Lena has ever felt in her life. She hadn’t even opened up like that with Kara before. That was certainly their most in-depth therapy session they’ve had before.

“I’m proud of ya, Lena. You really hung in there.” Harls produced a giant lollipop from her bag. “This is for a good session. Next week I can bring some pot brownies. Felicia and I have been working on homemade edibles. Pammy is a bit annoyed with us for using her cannabis like that, but I’m trying positive reinforcement with my patients and who doesn’t love some weed, eh? It’s a natural stress reliever!”

“Well, how can I turn down an offer like that?” She tried for a smile. “Who’s a better cook? Felicia or Pam? And how’s it going with your other patients?”

“Pam only cooks vegan meals and Felicia cooks anything, so I think they’re shoe-in-shoe for that. And I’m the best baker so I think we even each other out in the kitchen. And it’s going great! Less people are scared of me and coming to me for help. I’m even helping some aliens out, Lena. Aliens!” Harley’s smile was wide and Lena felt genuinely happy for her. “I’m still new to the city, though, so I was wondering if you had resources for domestic violence and stuff like that?”

“Of course. I’ll be sure to send you an extensive list of everything I have.”

“Great!” Harley pulled out a pair of rollerblades and started to switch them with her shoes. “Like I said, good job today, Ms. Lutha. I’ll be seeing you around!” She stood up and clonked her way to the door. She waved goodbye and skated away.

Lena was about to get up to close the door but was stopped by Kara doing it for her. “Hey. Did you guys just finish?”

The vigilante nodded and placed the lollipop on the coffee table. “Yeah. Today we talked about Lex.”

“Oh.” Kara glided over and opened her arms in which Lena practically collapsed into. “Do you want to talk about how it went?”

“Not right now. I want to get something in my stomach before we have to meet Leslie.” The short woman nuzzled herself into the crook of Kara’s neck. “Then I have the interview with James,” she groaned at the realization. She was beat. She wasn’t sure if she could handle Leslie _and_ being interviewed after the long therapy session.

“How about I make you a couple of sandwiches and ask James if you two can do it tomorrow. He understands stuff gets in the way, he won’t mind.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Lena soaked in Kara’s warmth for a couple of seconds before letting go. “How’s your morning so far, love?”

The Super scooped Lena up and carried her to the kitchen. “I had the most amazing breakfast ever. Who knew adding shaving cream to pancakes would make them fluffy?”

“I’m sorry, what?” The metahuman stared at the blonde. “You put shaving cream in your pancakes?”

Kara nodded as she started to spread the peanut butter. “Perks of being a Kryptonian. I should make you some, I promise you can’t even taste it.”

.... Was Lena seriously contemplating it? It’s not like she would die from ingesting it, her body had literal spider venom in her. “I trust that you know what you’re doing. Do you normally eat unordinary things?”

Kara placed two peanut butter and strawberry sandwiches in front of Lena. “I used to when I first landed on Earth just to spite Alex. She found it annoying that I could eat anything, and I mean anything, without dealing with consequences. So when she got on my nerves, I’d eat dirt or pencils to aggravate her. It was all fun and games until Eliza scolded me for eating all the writing utensils.”

Lena laughed at the image. “I used to speak in Gaelic to irritate Lillian or I’d have conversations with the “help”. Lex wasn’t too hard to annoy. He has a short temper.”

The alien snorted and was about to agree but decided against it. “Let’s hope Leslie had a good shift today. She gets extremely moody when she’s had a long day.”

“Seeing you should put her in a better mood. I know for a fact that your beautiful face makes my day 100% better.”

“Stop,” Kara blushed at the compliment. “Rao hand made you because you're so special and gorgeous.” It was Lena’s turn to blush.

“Can you fetch me my suit? It’s on my vanity.”

“Okie dokie!” Lena smiled at her girlfriend and finished her snack. She supposed she could get through the next hour or so with Leslie.

~

“Son of a bitch, that hurt!” Leslie grunted. She picked herself up and dusted off her clothes. “What were you electrified by?”

Lena held her wrist to her chest. They had been sparring for only 20 minutes but she was already aching. “An alien bomb.”

“That would do it.” Livewire made an electric whip and brought it towards Spider-Woman. The Spider side flipped to dodge the attack while shooting an electric web.

“You’re doing great, honey!” Supergirl shouted. She was working on her laptop but would occasionally look up to see the fighting match.

The fight went on for another five minutes and ended in a draw when both of them used too much energy. A small explosion sent them flying apart, singing the dirt where they were practicing.

“This is exactly why,” Leslie coughed from the dirt that was kicked up around her, “I am not in the superhero business.”

Lena had half a mind to whip her mask off and shake off the grains of dirt that had managed to slip inside. It was irritating her face. “Can’t handle getting your ass kicked?”

“Ha. Ha.” Livewire sat up and raised her eyebrows at Spidey who was still laying down. “I can still go a couple of rounds, but you seem like you’re done.”

The Spider picked her head up to look at the white-haired woman before letting it drop. “I don’t understand. It was acting up all day yesterday but today it feels not as bad.”

“You did say you were tired from earlier,” Kara added in helpfully.

“Ew, I didn’t need to know that.” Lena laughed as Supergirl spluttered for an excuse. “Why don’t you try meditating every day? That helped me for a while.”

“Is that how you manage to work at a diner without killing anyone?” Spider-Woman finally got up and trudged over to her sparring partner so they didn’t have to yell to talk to one another.

Leslie side-eyed her. “That and a lot of drinking.”

“Why don’t you apply for another job? Lena would be willing to let you work at CatCo again if you’re on your best behavior.”

“Work at CatCo and deal with sunny Kara Danvers? Psh, as if. I heard she’s secretly a bitch.”

Lena was about to say something but was cut off by Kara’s indignant: “Hey! Just because I’m doing work doesn’t mean I don’t hear you!”

Leslie cackled. “I know, I’m just messing with you.” Lena wanted to face palm. How was it that all of National City didn’t know Kara was Supergirl yet? “Thanks for the offer, Spidey, but I’ve got to decline. I don’t take handouts. Plus, no one wants me back there. I don’t wanna deal with it.”

“Fair enough. Hey, if you ever need therapy, I know a great shrink. Harley Quinn is the best of the best.”

“You mean that crazy chick who used to run Gotham with the Joker? That Harley Quinn?”

“That’s the one.”

“Hmm. I’ll think about it.”

After resting for another ten or so minutes, they went back to sparring. At 7, Spider-Woman called it quits. Supergirl dropped Leslie off at who knows where before taking Lena home.

“Stay here tonight?”

Supergirl deactivated her suit. “Sure thing, babe. Want me to run a bath or do you want to shower?”

“Join me in the shower and I’ll make a quick dinner?”

“Sounds like a reasonable trade.”

Lena was practically falling asleep at the table. Kara sped to wash the dishes before carrying her girlfriend to bed.

“I don’t know why I’ve been so tired lately,” Lena whispered as she yawned.

Kara pulled the covers back and slipped them both underneath. “I wonder if it has something to do with the long hours, late nights, and new powers?” she teased.

“Hm, maybe.” Lena snuggled closer into Kara. “Goodnight Kara Zor-El. I love you.”

“I love you too, Lena Luthor.” Lena nodded and kissed Kara. Within seconds, she was out like a light. Kara laughed lightly. She pulled the covers up and was ready to pass out herself when she remembered something. “Goodnight, Hope.”

“Goodnight, Kara Zor-El. May the both of you sleep well.”

The alien smiled. It took her a couple of minutes to fall asleep since it was still early for her, but the AI had played some soothing music to help her fall asleep.

-

“I was skeptical at first, but these are actually really fluffy.”

“Right? I feel bad for regular humans. They don’t know what they’re missing out on.”

“How’d you come up with this idea?”

Kara’s eyes brightened at the memory. “Ruby sent me some slime videos and there’s this thing called fluffy slime and well, you can see where I got the idea.”

Of course. “I wonder what other amazing food ideas we could come up with. We could make our own cookbook,” Lena joked.

“Oh, Rao, that’s an amazing idea, Lena! A cookbook for aliens! I wonder if the fortress has any recipes from back home. I would love to try and recreate some of them with you.”

“That sounds like a wonderful time.” Making alien recipes in her free time did sound fun. She’d have to go to the alien bar and ask the patrons what their favorite dishes from their home planet was and see if she could make it.

“James said he’s ready anytime after noon. And Snapper wants to know when he’s going to get an interview?” Her voice tilted towards the end.

“I told him I’d get him an interview with Harry. That was all? He didn’t say anything about me?”

Kara seemed to pick up on what she was asking. “Snapper probably hasn’t made the connection that you’re Spider-Woman yet. I mean, there hasn’t actually been coverage of your new power yet, right? I don’t know what he thinks. If you’re really worried about it, I can talk to him.”

“No, no. He wouldn’t out me even if he did figure it out. I will have some NDA’s ready, however. I will take this secret to the grave. If Lex ever found out…”

“He won’t. Even if he does, you’re a badass who can outsmart him. And you’ve got me. And if push comes to shove, I know Poison Ivy has your back. And if things get even more out of hand, Bruce will have your back. And-” Lena cut her off with a kiss.

“I do have some stellar friends, don’t I?” she grinned. “Which suit should I wear? Does James care about that?”

“No, that’s more Winn’s speed. I say you wear the original, though. I like the way your butt looks in it.”

Lena raised her eyebrow. “Why is this the first I’m hearing about this? I should wear it around the house.”

“Why wear it around the house when you could wear nothing?” Lena turned around so fast, the curtains moved.

“Kara Zor-El Danvers,” she started, aghast, “that is the most noninnocent thing I’ve heard from you while we’re outside the bedroom. Are you feeling well?”

The alien looked embarrassed. “Was it too much?”

“Absolutely not. Keep it up and you might just get laid tonight.” Lena winked and headed up to her lab to change into her suit while Kara was left at the base of the stairs with a shy smile.

Supergirl jumped on Spider-Woman’s back causing the metahuman to stumble and almost drop her mask. “I like when you take me swinging,” Kara said as an explanation.

“You’re _such_ a backseat driver,” Lena huffed in faux annoyance as she slid the mask over her head, “I never tell you how to fly!” She bent her legs and jumped high into the air, shooting a web into her favorite launch point. The web zoomed out of the web-shooters causing Lena to once again get used to the difference of the artificial webs and her natural ones.

Kara repositioned herself to be more comfortable. “Sometimes you cut it super close and I feel like we’re going to bulldoze right through a building! Alex already hates it when I accidentally fly into things when I’m not paying attention, I don’t know what she’d say if it were the both of us causing damage. Take a right here then a left in 11 blocks.”

The Spider twirled in the air and took a hard right which elicited a giggle from the alien. “You may be light, but you’re still an extra weight on my back. Sometimes I space out and don’t account for that as I’m calculating my swings.”

“Why do you calculate your swings? Don’t you just kind of, do it?”

“By now I’ve got most points throughout the city memorized and it’s practically muscle memory, but I use it to make sure I’m always at peak height to maintain my swinging pattern and so that I don’t use too much force. I’ve also got to be careful with my tension force so I don’t accidentally bring a building down with my webbing. I’m like a giant wrecking ball. Left or right?”

“Right. And I didn’t know that. I’ve never had to put much thought into my flying so I assumed it was the same for you. Okay, next block make a left and in 5 blocks we’re there. It’s the 3rd one down.”

Spider-Woman followed the directions and landed on the wall outside of the window Kara directed her to. “We didn’t think this through too much, did we?” She carefully knocked on the window. A confused James Olsen slid it open.

“You do know I have a front door, right Kara?” He chided as he stepped back. Supergirl detached from her girlfriend and easily flew into the room. Spider-Woman went to the window and crawled inside, right onto the ceiling. Once she centered herself in the room, she dropped and landed on her feet.

Kara glided over to the kitchen and grabbed the poptart James had left out for her. “I know but it would’ve been weird for us to just waltz through the lobby and into the elevator.”

“Point taken,” James acknowledged. He extended his hand to the metahuman. “It’s an honor to finally meet you face-to-face like this, Spider-Woman.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Olsen.” He sat on the couch and gestured for her to sit across from him. “Lena told me you wanted an exclusive to try and combat the Daily Bugle’s claims?”

“That’s correct.”

“I’ve got your back, don’t worry. Can I offer you anything before we get right into it? Probably not because of the mask, right?”

The Web-Head smiled under the mask. “A glass of water won’t be too much hassle, will it?”

“Not at all.” James headed to the kitchen as Kara drifted in. 

Lena didn’t need her girlfriend to stay, but the reporter offered since she was going to end up at James’s anyways. They, plus Winn, were planning on going to an arcade that had opened up. Lena was offered an invitation, in which she politely declined so she could spend time in her lab.

James set two glasses down on some coasters. He picked up his notepad and lucky pen. Kara deactivated her suit and pulled out her phone to play games.

“Do you mind if I record?” She shook her head. “Alright, let’s get started. What is your relationship with the Black Cat?”

“The Black Cat is an ex-girlfriend of mine,” Lena admitted. Ruby had accidentally tweeted that fact out so there was no point in dancing around it. “We ended the relationship long ago on equal terms. She knows I am in a committed relationship with Supergirl.”

“The pictures show you two are close. Is the friendship mutual on both parts and does Supergirl know about it?”

Lena was glad that his questions were direct and to the point. That way, people wouldn’t get to speculate what was going on. “Black Cat and I sometimes bump into each other while I’m out on patrol. We make conversation and catch up, but it’s nothing more than that. Supergirl has joined our chats sometimes and she just adores her, doesn’t she?” Supergirl snorted but continued playing Candy Crush.

“What do you think of the allegations against Black Cat accusing her of being a master thief?”

“She is a thief. I mean, she stole my heart at one point, didn’t she?” Lena glanced to the side. “I would like to note that Supergirl is rolling her eyes.”

James looked at his best friend who pouted at being called out on. “Speaking of stolen hearts, you and Supergirl have officially become National City’s power couple. Spider-Woman and Lena Luthor are neck-in-neck with being lesbian icons and Supergirl has become a pansexual icon. What are your thoughts on that?”

“I think it’s mind-blowing that Lena Luthor is even seen as an icon,” Spider-Woman joked. “Kidding. I am proud to be a part of the LGBTIQ+ community and to be somebody they can look up to. I am a proud lesbian and I want everyone to know that lesbians are valid. Bisexual people are not going through a phase. Transgender people are not going to change their mind and they are not ruining their lives. Everyone is valid. I know Lena Luthor donates to foundations like the [Trevor Project](https://give.thetrevorproject.org/give/63307/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=pride2020&c_src2=headerdonatebutton), [Trans Lifeline](https://www.giveoutday.org/organization/Translifeline), [Outright Action International](https://outrightinternational.org), and [GLAAD](https://donate.glaad.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app206b?1400.donation=form1&df_id=1400&mfc_pref=T&NONCE_TOKEN=E23851A558E53720456279DCDF362F07). Not to mention the [Black Lives Matter organizations](https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/), so I can see why we’re both tied. And Supergirl was elated at how many pan flags were flown. Isn’t that right, honey?”

“Yes! This was one of the biggest pride parades I’ve seen here in a long time. Have you seen the fancams they’ve made of us? We literally put the power in power couple.”

Lena tilted her head slightly in curiosity. “What’s a fancam?”

James was doing his best not to laugh. Kara lowered her phone to look directly at Lena. “So many people have tweeted them at you, what do you mean you don’t know what a fancam is? I’ll show you some after the interview.”

“Do you know what she’s talking about, Mr. Olsen?”

He shrugged. “A friend of mine has a Spider-Woman fan account so I’m pretty knowledgeable when it comes to the stan community.” Kara’s head snapped to the man.

‘ _Who? Winn?’_ She mouthed. When James nodded, she tossed the phone to him so he could type in Winn’s account.

“Seems we’ve gotten a little sidetracked. It’s now been several months since you’ve first put the mask on. How do you feel you’ve changed and improved since then?”

The interview wasn’t stiff and professional like Lena was used to. James was very casual (probably since he understood that the people behind the mask were just that - people) and he’d throw in some funny questions to keep it interesting. Nothing felt scripted. Kara would comment on some things and answer questions when prompted and it would turn into a mini conversation between the girlfriends. James didn’t mind at all. In fact, he felt like their interactions brought flavor and truth to answers. There were a couple of almost slip ups from both superheroes but they were able to casually play it off.

“That’s all I’ve got for you, Spider-Woman. Thank you for your time.”

“Of course. It was actually a pleasure. Perhaps next time I should crash an interview with Supergirl and be the peanut gallery.”

“You know you love me. I was a delight.”

“That you were, my love.” Lena moved from her seat on the couch to besides Kara so she could watch the fancams.

James turned the recorder off and closed his notebook. “Please don’t tell Winn I told you about his account. He’s kind of embarrassed about it.”

“But this is awesome! Look, he made you all sparkly!” Kara held her phone up to the mask so Lena and Hope could see.

“The editing is impressive,” the Ai commented.

As they were watching the videos, James went to get ready. Lena glanced around the apartment. It was spacey with framed photographs on the wall. The theme was white with black accents. It was modern looking and it smelled vaguely of pine trees. His photography of Superman at the Daily Planet must’ve sold for a high price and his work at CatCo helped keep this lavish living. If Lena didn’t buy a house, she probably would’ve gotten an apartment similar or maybe even a penthouse.

Lena hadn’t even noticed the time until Winn walked in through the front door.

“Oh my God, it’s Spider-Woman. On James’s couch,” he murmured in disbelief. “It’s so cool meeting you again, ma’am.”

“Winn, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” She stood up and offered a hug to the short man. He practically lept into her arms.

“This is the best day ever,” he squeaked.

“I’ve been thinking of adding an upgrade to my AI sometime in the near future. Would you like to help me with it?”

“Would I?” Winn’s entire face lit up in glee. “Heck yeah!”

“Great. I’ll ask Lena when a good time is so we can use her personal lab since she practically has everything there.”

“Sweet!” Kara looked at her girlfriend fondly. She honestly loved that Lena was getting along with her friends.

“We should get going,” James interrupted Winn’s fanboying. “I have a feeling we’ll be in the arcade almost all day.”

Kara jumped to her feet. “They have the newest Mecha Strike out and I’m dying to test it out. Not to mention the junk food! I can smell the nachos from here.”

The mention of the games was enough to bring Winn back to reality. “I heard they also have a new Star Wars pinball machine. This one is Artoo themed.”

As Kara and Winn started to geek out over the movies (which Lena finally saw), James gathered the empty glasses. “Thanks again for the interview, I know you’re a busy person. Be sure to check out the magazine on Friday.”

“Will do.” She turned to her girlfriend. “I’m heading out now, Kara. Will I see you later?”

“Of course,” Kara slid her phone in her pocket and hugged Lena tightly, “I’ll be there tonight. Promise.”

“Okay. Be safe. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The trio walked out the front door while Lena crawled out of the window. There wasn’t much activity so she decided to go home and go straight to work. Hope would tell her if there were any emergencies.

Using the built in glider in the suit, Lena allowed for the wind to carry her the majority of the way home. She hated sneaking in and out of her house in broad daylight. It made her paranoid that someone would catch her and learn her secret. Thankfully, the neighborhood didn’t care too much about anything and passerbyers would think it was just Spider-Woman popping in to see her girlfriend. Regardless, it still made her anxious.

Lena entered through her bedroom window. She dropped the suit and threw on a pair of sweats with one of Kara’s t-shirts. This time for sure she’d work in the lab without her powers going haywire.

“Good morning, Mr. Fisk.” Kara had big hands, everyone knew that, but even her hand felt small in comparison to the Kingpin’s.

“Ah, Kara Danvers. Lena Luthor’s girlfriend, correct?”

She adjusted her glasses as she sat down. “Yes, sir. Although today I’m here on behalf of CatCo for an interview about your most recent business deal with L-Corp.”

The man sat in his chair, a giant smile plastered on his face. It made Kara feel unsettled. “Why, of course. I’ll be happy to share any details you would like to know. It is important for National City to know who I am, after all. Metropolis loved me, and I hope I can get this city to love me, too.”

Kara forced a smile. She knew this man was despicable according to what Yuri had shown them. Yet, he acted as if he were a genuinely good person like Lena.

“I’ll turn my recorder on then and get started, if you don’t mind?”

She read the pre-written questions Snapper sent her as well as her own questions. She knew most of the details of the deal thanks to Lena, but it was interesting to hear what Fisk Industries had to benefit from it. Despite being a mob boss, it did seem as if Fisk cared about the environment and was serious in his efforts. It didn’t make her hate him any less, though.

“That’s all I have for today, Mr. Fisk. Thank you for your time, sir.” Kara was hardly ever that formal while interviewing people, but she knew this man demanded respect.

“It was my pleasure, Ms. Danvers. You are very polite and well-mannered. Did you know that?”

Kara fiddled with her glasses. What was his angle? “Thank you, sir.”

Fisk nodded and watched as she stood up. “I can see why Lena likes you. You’ve got some steel under that exterior, I see it. You’re fierce and passionate, just as I am. It’s a shame you’re in the company of the likes of Supergirl and Spider-Woman.”

Kara stayed quiet.

“I know you know them. I’ve got pictures showing you and Spider-Woman together. And you’re the only one who writes the Supergirl articles besides Jimmy Olsen.”

“I don’t know who they are, but how to contact them,” she said evenly.

Fisk bared his teeth. “There’s that fire I was talking about! Be sure to let them know that this city will soon be mine. Have a good rest of your Monday, Ms. Danvers. I can’t wait to read the article.” She clenched her fists as she left the office.

As soon as she stepped out, she was escorted to the elevator. The person entered with her to be sure she left. Taking off her glasses to “clean them”, Kara used her x-ray vision to look over the building. There was nothing out of place, everything looked like a normal business building. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something amiss.

“How long have you been working for Mr. Fisk?” Kara asked the young man.

He glanced at her but said nothing. She noticed a tattoo on his neck. It was of the local mafia. So he hired the mafia to work security, that sounded about right. It wasn’t much, but she was sure Yuri would appreciate the small amount of information.

Once out of Fisk Industries, Kara dialed Lena’s number.

“Hey, love. How’d it go?”

Kara walked a block before ducking into an alleyway to whip off her glasses. “He was pleasant during the interview. Creepy before and after, though.” She hovered above the buildings to look at the building she just left to go over it again to make sure she didn’t miss anything. “I have a feeling he’s up to something. He told me to tell Spider-Woman and Supergirl that the city would soon be his.”

Supergirl could hear Lena huff all the way from CatCo. “I’d like to see him try. He’s got a competitor, though. Harry just left after meeting Snapper and I may have overheard that legally, Oscorp can’t start human trials yet. But Norman isn’t going to let that stop him. He’s much like Lex in that regard. Determined to get things done his way, consequences be damned.”

“The three of them should have a tea party.” Kara’s search for something suspicious was futile so she started slowly flying back to CatCo.

“Oh, they used to. I can’t wait until they do again, but this time all three of them behind jail cells. Speaking of tea parties, I was thinking of having another family get together. Does Wednesday work for you?”

Supergirl dodged a bird. “I actually have an interview with an up and coming CEO - Veltson Bastien. And of course, the article has to be done the same day. How about Thursday?” She landed in another alleyway, this one by the Big Belly Burger by work. 

“Thursday works. I’ll let everyone know.”

“I’m picking lunch up. I’ll see you in half an hour?”

“I hadn’t even realized it was lunchtime. Things are crazy here trying to get everything ready for Friday.”

Kara stepped in line. “I hate having to rush, but at least we’re not crashing the cover. Now, _that’s_ a disaster. I’ll see you in the office, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too, darling. Fly safe.”

Kara laughed as she hung up the phone. One time when she was flying with food, a pack of pigeons tried attacking her. Thankfully, no one was around to see her embarrass herself.

“It’s been forever since we’ve patrolled,” Maggie bemoaned. 

Lena shrugged. “I’ve been busy. The beginning of the month is always tough to deal with. I feel bad for Sam - she’s the one who has to go over L-Corp’s budget. I do not miss doing that.”

“Accounting and financing isn’t really my strong suit. Thankfully it’s Alex’s.”

“I wouldn’t trust you with my money, either,” Spidey snickered. Maggie flipped her off. “When’s the wedding? Have you guys figured that out yet?”

“We’re planning for next year in April. Gives us a ton of time to plan and stuff. Why are you just wearing your mask, by the way?”

Maggie turned the corner and cruised down the dark street. “The insulation suit just feels weird after a while and I don’t fully trust myself in a suit full of technology yet. So the mask was the best choice. It’d be weird if you were spotted with Lena Luthor in the passenger seat, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t know, it’d make for a good headline on a trashy magazine cover. Did I send you the one where it thought we were dating?”

Lena rolled her eyes. “We were literally getting coffee together. TMZ will publish anything for clicks. It’s been well established that Kara and I are in a relationship.”

“I don’t know about “well established”,” Maggie air quoted, “but, yeah, it’s obvious you two are together. Have you met Eliza yet?”

“No…” It’s not that Lena was avoiding meeting her, per say, there just hasn’t been a perfect opportunity. Yeah, that was it. “I’m pretty sure she knows about me, but I haven’t met her yet. I’m a very busy CEO of two companies and a part-time vigilante, you know.”

Maggie tsked. “Sounds like a bunch of excuses if you ask me. It’d be a shame if someone texted her and asked her to fly over to meet you, wouldn’t it?”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t I?”

Okay, Maggie definitely would. “In all seriousness, I can’t legitimately afford to skip on down to Midvale with Kara with everything going on. I can’t even control my powers perfectly. What if Kara drops me as we’re flying? I can’t web onto anything to save myself.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, she doesn’t have that bad of butterfingers to drop you like that.”

The conversation was interrupted by a call on the radio. There was suspicious activity not too far from them. Maggie drove to the location and they could clearly see someone on the fire escape trying to break into an apartment.

“I’ve got this,” Spider-Woman volunteered. She was in the mask, a black hoodie, black joggers, and black socks that she could stick through. She walked right up the side of the building to the man who was about to bash the window in with a hammer. “Excuse me sir, what are you doing?”

“What the hell are you?” He tightened the hold on the hammer and bent his knees as if he were ready to attack a person who was standing horizontally on the wall.

“I’m Spider-Woman. Don’t you read the papers?” Sure, she wasn’t in her whole getup, but normal people couldn’t stick on walls like she was currently doing.

Hammer dude looked at her suspiciously. “Where’s your costume?”

“Your mom is washing it after last night. Just come down, I don’t want any problems.”

“A mom joke, really Lena?” Maggie sighed over the comms.

Hammer dude crossed his arms. “This is my apartment and I’m trying to get back in.”

“Oh yeah? What’s the address then? And the apartment number?”

He looked at her dumbly for a second before grabbing his duffle bag and trying to race down the fire escape. Spider-Woman webbed him to her and calmly walked down as the man lay in her arms, defeated.

“Why were you trying to break into the apartment?”

“I needed some quick cash. Figured I’d steal something real quick and pawn it off.” Lena put the man down and got a good look at him. He seemed to be in his thirties. Latino, probably, with a tattoo sleeve on his right arm.

“Money for what?”

He scoffed as he crossed his arms. “Look, it doesn’t matter. Just lock me up or whatever.”

Maggie was looking at Lena expectedly from the cruiser but something was nagging her about this man. “Money for what?” She repeated.

He stayed silent, stubbornly looking away. Lena waited a minute to see if he’d talk, but he didn’t. Fine. She could wait. It only took five minutes.

“It was my daughter’s birthday last week and she wanted a big party, so I threw her one. But because of that, I’m behind on rent. It’s whatever.”

“It’s not whatever. Have you heard of FEAST?”

“Isn’t it a homeless shelter or something?”

“Yeah, it is. But every Friday from 4-6, they have a soup kitchen. Completely free. Warm food and canned food. That way, you don’t have to worry about food one day a week. Do you work?”

The man seemed confused by what was happening. “I, uh, no.”

“There are coffee shops and grocery stores hiring on the other side of town. They don’t care too much about your past as long as you have a good work ethic.” Lena fished around in her pocket for cash she was going to use on food later. “Here’s $100. It may not be a lot, but you tell your landlord you’re gonna pay the rent in full once you land a job. You think you can do that? Pull off getting the job interview?”

“Y-Yeah.” He hesitantly took the money. “Why don’t you hand me over to your cop friend?”

“Because I don’t need to. I’m starting to realize not everyone has black and white reasons why they do stuff. Now you go home and you find some nice slacks with a button-up, okay? Other side of town, by the Ben and Jerry’s with the backward sign. You know what I’m talking about?”

He nodded. “Right next to the taco shop that says it closes at 8 but stays open until 10?” The Spider nodded. “Are you sure, though? Like I did literally try to break into someone’s apartment.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Now go. I better not catch you doing that again. And remember - FEAST has soup kitchens on Fridays, 4-6 pm. Have a goodnight.” He picked up his bag, shook her hand, and ran south.

Spider-Woman opened the door to the car and felt the warmth from inside hit her.

“So what was that about?”

“Needed money for rent. I wish there was more I could’ve done. I am going to increase the advertisement for FEAST. Apparently people don’t know that it doubles as a soup kitchen.”

“I was there the other day checking up on someone I directed there. May Parker and Martin Li have that place running smoothly.”

“That’s good to hear. I should stop by soon.”

After that, patrol was pretty silent. They rescued a litter of kittens towards the end and brought them to the station since the shelters were closed. No way were they letting the poor babies freeze. (the mother was found ran over on the curb)

The captain decided to take all 4 of them home promising to take them to the shelter in the morning. It didn’t seem likely though as he was cooing over all of them and Maggie said he was a cat person, so.

“It’s been real slow lately with you and Supergirl cleaning the streets. Not that I’m complaining. It gives me more time to work on some cases that are growing cold. Chloe’s been giving me a hand and we’re making slow progress.”

“That’s good to hear. I love being Spider-Woman, don’t get me wrong, but I’m starting to feel a little stretched too thin trying to juggle everything.”

“You’re not a complete spider, you don’t have 8 limbs. Better pace yourself, Luthor, or I’ll have Sam and Jess on you like hawks.”

“Yeah, yeah. I have to look over some documents before a meeting tomorrow morning, so I’ll catch you on Thursday?”

“Yup. See you then.”

“Bug out.” Spider-Woman shot a web and swung into the night sky. She was gradually getting better at using her natural webbing and she was proud of it.

Since Lena was becoming more in tune with her spider side, she was thinking of converting her basement into a spider sanctuary. There were dozens of endangered species and she felt a sort of kinsmanship to the creepy crawlers. It’s not like the spiders frightened her nor would they be capable of hurting her. She’d have to ask around to see how she could get that built.

Kara opened the door to Lena’s house only to find it empty.

“Hope, where’s Lena?”

“The Boss is picking up food for tonight. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and ingredients for a potato salad.”

“I guess that means I’m grilling again, doesn’t it?” Kara walked into the bedroom to switch her reporter clothes for something more casual. Lena got the right side of the dresser and Kara the left. She wasn’t sure how half her clothes had ended up at her girlfriend’s, but she had a suspicion Lena swiped her comfy clothes when she wasn’t paying attention.

The blonde decided on a tank top with a rainbow on it with some jeans. She tied her hair up and wandered into the kitchen for a special granola bar when she spotted a note from Lena.

_‘Hey, darling_

_In case you get home before I do, do you mind tidying up the kitchen for me? You can toss my papers in the lab upstairs. Remember that Kool Aid mix I bought you? Could you make a batch? Everything is in the cupboard above the pans. Thank you x_

_Much love,_

_Lena’_

Kara wasn’t sure how she didn’t notice the laptop and piles of papers on the table. As she picked them up, she glimpsed the top paper had notes about… endangered spider species? Curiosity got the better of her so she looked through the notes where many different spider species were broken down in the notes. Their habitats, diet, etc. The last paper was a poorly drawn schematic of what looked like the basement. Oh boy.

The alien didn’t hate spiders (she was dating one, afterall) but they were kind of _weird._ They just sat on webs all day and climbed walls like it were no big deal. When Lena did it, it was cute. But the small little creatures doing it kind of intimidates her. At least Lena wasn’t into snakes. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to survive the limbless creatures. They were just… noodles. Angry little spaghetti noodles that were scaly and had beady eyes and -

Yeah, Kara would rather spiders than snakes.

Lena’s lab was always clean. There was a place for everything, no matter how small. Cabinets and drawers were labeled, things were strategically placed in the room. If she was working on a project, there would be papers and equipment laid out on a table but it would still look neat.

The lab was in utter chaos. There were angry scorch marks on the usually pristine white walls. Nanobots scattered on top of the cabinet they were kept in. A pile of broken glass in the far corner. Papers were crumbled into balls next to pens that were snapped in half. The epicenter of the disaster was a lead box.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“She’s been having trouble perfecting the balance of the Kryptonite formula. I tried to inform her that learning the components of an alien substance would take time, but you know her.”

Kara wished she could help Lena with this problem. Winn was able to create a shield to stop Kryptonite whereas Lena was trying to infuse that idea into each nanobot that makes up the suit. Perhaps she could convince Lena to work with Winn to figure out the problem.

She wrote down some encouragements on sticky notes and taped them to the wall before heading downstairs to make the juice. Just as she finished, Lena walked in with her arms full of groceries.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Kara called out. She tasted the juice with the ladle and smiled. It was practically perfect.

“Hey, darling. Sorry it took me so long. I was also getting enough groceries to fill up the fridge.” They shared a quick kiss while Lena unpacked her haul. “I got your favorite - blue jello cups.”

Kara zipped around the kitchen unpacking all the bags to find her delicious snack. “Aww, babe! Did you buy out the whole stock?” She held up a bag that was filled with the jello.

“No, they assured me there was more in the back. Don’t eat too much - Harley is bringing dessert. Harry unfortunately can’t make it tonight. He’s working on the research stations we’re collaborating on. That means you’ll be able to eat to your heart's desire tonight.”

“Okay, okay.” They started to put the groceries away. “So, your lab is kind of a mess,” Kara prompted.

Lena flinched at the memory. “I was going to get around to cleaning it eventually.”

“Why don’t you ask Winn for help? He’s going to help you with Hope, right? When you’re done with the suit, pull a switcheroo and then work on that. He’s a nerd, he can go hours at a time in a lab no problem just as you can.”

Lena sighed dramatically. “I wanted to try and get it done by myself. I’ll see when he’s available next week. Maybe he can give me some pointers on learning Kryptonian. Mark my words, I’ll learn the language by the end of the year.”

“You’re too hard on yourself, Lena. Tonight we can go over the words we’ve been practicing. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good. Get grilling and I’ll start making the salad. Make sure to start with the vegan ones first and wipe the girl down before you start.”

“Aye, aye, captain.” She mock saluted as she headed outside.

That night, the vegans (Maggie, Ivy, and Pam) sat together and bonded over their love for the food while everyone else (Lena, Kara, Sam, Ruby, Harley, Felicia, and Jess) worked on seeing who could eat the most hotdogs in under a minute. Kara ate 16, Lena 11, Harley 9, Sam 7, Felicia 5, Ruby 4, and Jess 3.

“Good thing you’re a lesbian,” Sam teased. That earned her a kick under the table from the lab technician.

“It’s kinda disgusting seeing you two inhale them like it’s no big deal,” Harley chortled. “It kind of reminds me of Bud and Lou.”

“Bud and Lou?” Sam echoed.

Harley grinned. “I haven’t told you guys? I have two beautiful hyena boys at home. I saved them from a drug trafficking ring last week. They are the sweetest, aren’t they Felicia?”

“When they’re not chewing on my shoes,” Felicia grumbled. Harley pouted. “I mean, they are angels. Fitting pets for one Harley Quinn.”

“Aren’t they, like, illegal to have as pets?” Kara asked.

The former criminal seemed to ponder that. “Well, yes. But I rescued them and I take good care of them, don’t I, Felly?”

“She does. They have their own room and she bathes them and feeds them and absolutely adores them.” Lena could tell her friend was feeling a little salty. “She even allows them on the bed sometimes.”

“Can I meet them? Please?” Harley raised her hands in surrender and pointed to Sam. “Mom, please? If Harls has them, they must be tame.”

“Are they?” Sam raised an eyebrow.

Harley seemed to think about it. “They follow my commands and they’re kind of scared of Ivy, though they mostly ignore Fefe. I promise they have good manners!”

“As long as there are two adults present, I don’t mind. I trust you, Harley.”

“You do?” Harley looked at Sam disbelievingly. “Who would’ve thought that leaving Gotham could change a gal.”

As they continued to chat, Kara turned to Lena. “So if there was a lion or wolf or something in an abusive situation and I rescued it-?”

“Nice try, honey, but no.”

“I can’t have a pet lion but you want to turn the basement into a spider hangout?”

“A spider hangout? That sounds cool!” Jess said. That caught the other’s attention.

Kara shook her head. “Not like that. She literally wants to import a ton of different spiders so she can give them a comfy life and to try and breed them to save their species.”

“That’s way cool! I want to help!” Ruby exclaimed.

Felicia cringed. “But _why_?”

“You’ve gotta let people have their things! Ivy has a whole room dedicated to her special plants and even you have cat knick-knacks everywhere. I swear the one on the dresser stares at me when I’m sleeping.”

“You guys sleep together?” Sam questioned.

“Sometimes. We’re best friends, after all!” Ouch, Lena felt that. Felicia did her best to keep her face neutral. “Sometimes Pammy will sleep with her, too. Felicia is a very good friend.”

“Is that how stupid we sounded?” Kara whispered to her girlfriend.

“I think so,” she whispered back. Oh, those poor souls.

Once the food was finished, everyone went inside for dessert. Felicia and Harley made a dozen of chocolate chip, snickerdoodle (which Lena hissed at), oatmeal, and macadamia nut cookies. Everyone was piled into the living room watching Frozen.

“Do you think Elsa is gay?” Maggie asked. “I mean, conceal don’t feel? Don’t let them know? Sounds pretty gay to me.”

“It would be so dope if she was.” Ruby fit a whole chocolate chip cookie in her mouth and continued to speak with a full mouth, “She’d probably make her girlfriend a whole ice castle or something.”

“It’d be like having the Fortress in a Disney movie,” Lena nudged Kara playfully.

“Nothing will be able to compare to the real thing.”

“That is true,” she conceded.

The only people who were actually watching the movie were Ruby and Harley. The adults gossiped about work and boring stuff. Ivy mentioned that Harley’s birthday was coming up. Lena suggested they plan a surprise birthday party for the clown and everyone agreed. Lena didn’t know what exactly made up a birthday party, but she was sure the others would plan something fun and meaningful.

It hit 10 when Sam called it a night. “Ruby is starting school on Tuesday so I’ve been trying to get her to bed early.”

“That’s right!” Lena had forgotten all about that. “Are you excited to be starting 8th grade?”

Ruby pursed her lips. “I’m nervous for sure, but yeah, I’m also kind of excited. Mom said she’s taking me shopping this weekend to get school supplies. That’s my favorite part of a new school year.”

“That sounds like fun,” Kara agreed, “I love picking out pencils and pens and notebooks. Hey, if you get anything Supergirl or Spider-Woman themed, we’ll be happy to sign it for you so you can get some street cred.”

“I would be so jealous of you,” Jess declared. “If anyone tries to use you to meet them, know that they aren’t your friends. You want to steer clear of those people.”

“And don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself,” Harley chimed in. “Speak your truth!”

“If anyone causes you any problems, you let us know. We’ll be sure no one messes with you again,” Felicia promised.

Sam smirked. “That’s right. You’ve got a badass mother who’s got some very scary friends. We’ll stick up for you if you need us to.”

“I know.” Ruby smiled proudly at everyone in the room. “I love you all and I’m happy you’re my family. Now come on, I want to shower before bed.”

Soon after, everyone else left. Kara helped Lena practice her Krpytoneese as promised before bed. The metahuman was still clumsy with her pronunciations, but she was getting there.

“Goodnight, babe,” Kara muttered.

“Goodnight darling.” Lena combed some of the blonde’s hair back and kissed her forehead. “Goodnight to you as well, Hope.”

“A good night to you both as well.”

“Is he ready?” Fisk asked the lead scientist.

“He is, sir.” 

The scientist led his boss down the corridor into a room. The room was split by a locked door - a glass window allowing them to see inside. A man was sitting on a hospital bed, a metal contraption wrapped onto his back.

“We were able to encompass his energy into that harness he’s wearing. For the past week, we’ve monitored his vitals and ability to use his powers. He is ready for a field test.”

“This is wonderful news.” Wilson Fisk walked over to the window and gingerly stroked the glass. “Spider-Woman will have no idea what she’s up against.”

Maxwell Dillion flexed his fingers and watched the yellow electricity dance over his fingers. Because of Spider-Woman, he got these powers. Because of her, he was tested on and experimented with. Because of her, his life was ruined. She was going to pay. He was going to make her hurt the way the scientists hurt him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! Right before midnight too, phew. Sorry it took me so long everyone, I'm depressed and I've been spending my time either being edgy or signing petitions and things of the such.
> 
> Next chapter will have Electro, if you didn't notice. Hopefully, it doesn't take me another month to upload...haha. Sorry.
> 
> If you like Legends of Tomorrow, I made a Legends [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3y7jkbmOznqNAKSoBCPBes?si=I_SPulrFRnyY_wTbK936GQ). Also, check out my friend's [Youtube chanel.](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6RYX585sx0iRAC0S0yK5g)
> 
> Now a more personal commentary - Fuck Trump. Don't support him, never will. I'm Mexican-American, transgender male, and I'm pansexual. Black Lives Matter. If you don't support my views, sorry. I'm not budging on them. If you're 18 or older, please register to vote. Even if you already have, double-check. I tagged some LGBT organizations and the BLM card in the story. Donate if you want - sign petitions if you haven't.
> 
> [my tumblr](https://timelords-angel-is-sherlocked.tumblr.com/) I also kind of made a [kofi](https://ko-fi.com/mliam01) if you wanna do smth with that.
> 
> Everyone please stay safe. I love you and thank you so much for sticking with this story. I have not given up on it. I actually wrote the timeline for phase 3 and let me just say..... It's freaking amazing. I am READY for it. How's your day going? Tell me a fun fact. Best pick up line. Anything :)


	23. Wattever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena meets Eliza and tangles with a new metahuman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to [my beta reader](https://confusinggemini612.tumblr.com/) for helping me out with this chapter :) 14k words, strap yourselves in. Challenge - take a drink of water every time there's a pun

Lena’s ears perked at the mention of her name.

“I thought I was straight, but Spider-Woman has me questioning,” a reporter told her friend.

“Spider-Woman has you questioning and not Supergirl?”

Lena surreptitiously glanced at the two women. The first one who had spoken was Gwen Stacy and the second was Mackenzie Robbins. They were a couple of feet away from her desk reading Friday’s issue.

“Supergirl seems too God-like, but Spider-Woman is like, right there. Also, some of her suits hug her just right. She low-key got cake and I know her strap is big.”

Mackenzie rolled her eyes as she smiled. “Good point, but Supergirl’s muscles are to drool over. And her eyes! They are so blue and so powerful, I could get lost in them. Her strap is way bigger, though.” The woman paused and lowered her voice. “What do you think of Lena Luthor?”

“What do you mean?”

Lena felt their eyes focus on her. “I know she’s our boss, but she is drop-dead gorgeous. I mean, her jawline alone could cut glass.”

Gwen nodded along to her friend’s words. “Right? Her eyes I could drown in. I can’t tell if they’re green or blue. She’s too intimidating to look in the eye for too long.”

“That’s the truth. I wonder if she knows how hot she is? I mean look at her, all she’s doing is working, yet she looks like a goddess.” Just to mess with them, Lena looked at them and raised an eyebrow. They ducked their heads.

“Kara Danvers is a lucky gal,” Gwen whispered. “They have such a cute relationship. Even before they became official, they were best friends. They are such goals.”

“I want what they have. Is that asking too much?”

They changed the topic to their single lives when Kara practically skipped over to Lena’s desk.

“Hey, darling,” Lena greeted with a smile.

“Hey! I was downtown and I picked up the Filipino food you like from the corner. I know lunch isn’t for another half an hour, but I figured I’d get it anyway.”

“Thank you.” She was about to ask if Kara ever eavesdropped on conversations before when the reporter's phone started to ring.

“Hello? What?” Kara got the crinkle. “She is? She does? Tonight? Oh, Rao. No, it’s fine. We’ll be there. Thanks, Alex.”

The CEO frowned. Why did her girlfriend sound so distressed? “Is everything alright?”

The blonde fidgeted with her glasses. “Apparently, Eliza is in town.” She wrung her hands. “She wants to have dinner tonight and she wants to meet you.”

Lena’s heart skipped a beat. “She wants to meet me?”

“Yeah, and I promised Alex we’d be at her place at 7.” The vigilante’s palms started to sweat and the air grew a bit heavy. Kara, as observant as ever, felt the change. “Hey, if you’re not ready, I can say something came up at L-Corp.”

“No, no. We’ve been dating for almost three months now, I think it’s appropriate I meet your mother. I mean, you’ve met mine and she tried to kill you.” She rubbed her hands on her trousers which caused little sparks. “What do I wear? Do I bring anything? I’ve never met my partner’s parents before, what if she doesn’t like me?”

Kara set the bag of food down and took Lena’s hand. “She’s going to love you, babe. I promise. Don’t overthink it, everything will be okay. I mean, she likes Maggie, right?” That got Lena to smile.

“I suppose you’re right. I’ll leave around 6 so I can change out of this into something more casual. Am I going to meet you there?”

“Yeah. I’ve got some things to do at the DEO after work. I’ll text you her address.” Kara squeezed her girlfriend’s hand. “I promise it’ll be okay. You’ve got this.” She waved and headed into James’ office.

Lena sighed. She quickly finished her email and decided to head to her lunch break since the food was still warm. As she got up and passed the bullpen to go to the elevator, Snapper Carr kept his eyes on her. She outwardly didn’t react but she was cringing on the inside. He hadn’t brought up the accident last week - instead he would silently judge from afar. It creeped her out.

The day passed in a blur and before she knew it, Lena was at her apartment debating on what to wear. She had to wear something casual, but the Luthor in her wanted to wear something a bit professional, too. She was meeting Kara’s mom. She was honestly planning on marrying Kara one day, so this had to go well. Lena remembered long ago when Kara said she would wear her suit under her clothes when she needed a confidence boost. The Spider grabbed her first suit and changed into it. Just in case, she’d put her mask and gloves in her purse.

Five minutes before 7, Lena stood outside Alex Danvers’ door. She remembered the first and only time she had been there was when she was smashed and Maggie allowed her to crash on the couch. She hoped the detective wouldn’t bring it up.

She raised her hand and gently rapped on the door. Kara opened it right away. “Hey, Lena! How was work?”

Lena pecked her lips. “I had a very exhausting conversation with Fisk. I’ve been ignoring Lex’s calls so he used his dear buddy to try and make contact.”

“What does Lex want?” Maggie scorned. She greeted Lena with their secret spider handshake.

Lena warily eyed Eliza who was setting the table pretending not to listen to the conversation. “I think in reality, he’s lonely. He and Mother are at odds and no one else visits him. He’s still my brother, but I’d rather not hear his anti-alien rhetoric.”

Maggie nodded and led them to the table. Eliza smiled and offered her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Lena Luthor. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I’m sure you have,” Lena laughed nervously as she shook the hand. “It’s a pleasure, Dr. Danvers. I’ve read your work, and it’s impressive. Alien biology isn’t a well-known field, but I’m glad they have you in it.”

Eliza’s eyes brightened. “Thank you.”

Alex came out of the bedroom and waved at Lena. “Just in time. The food is ready.”

“No thanks to you,” Maggie muttered. That earned her an elbow to the ribs.

Eliza sat at the head of the table. To her left was Alex and Maggie, Kara and Lena to her right. Maggie and Eliza made idle chit chat as everyone served themselves.

“So what brings you to National City, Eliza?” Maggie asked.

“J’onn wanted me to give him a check-up before he leaves for Mars.”

“He’s leaving for Mars?” Lena didn’t work at the DEO nor did she know the older man well, but she did know the alien was a father figure to the Danvers sisters.

Kara nodded and swallowed her mouthful of mashed potatoes. “M’gann needs help on Mars. I offered to go, I was actually going to tell you tonight.”

“Will you be okay in that atmosphere?” Lena wasn’t sure if Kara could survive space. Maybe she’d come up with a suit for the Kryptonian in case the need ever arised. “When are you leaving?”

“I’ll be fine, I promise. We’ll leave Wednesday after work.” She paused and looked at Lena with a smirk. “Do you think if I told my boss I had an emergency that was out of this world, she’d give me Thursday and Friday off?”

“I don’t know, she usually requires a two weeks notice…”

“What if I-”

“You two are for real flirting like that right in front of my salad?” Maggie deadpanned.

Alex snorted. “At least they know they’re flirting. It was way worse when they were oblivious to their feelings.”

“Hey! We weren’t that bad!” Kara protested.

“Oh yeah?” Alex challenged. “Remember how you fought so hard to prove that Lena wasn’t a member of Cadmus when you knew her for like, two weeks?”

“And you were trying to stop me from arresting her even though there was video evidence?” Maggie added.

“Don’t forget how she said that she looked into Lena’s eyes and knew she wasn’t lying. I knew right then and there the two of you would end up together,” Eliza crowed.

The super couple blushed a matching shade of red.

Kara tried to gain some footing. “Well, remember when you first started crushing on Maggie? You had heart eyes every time she was around and I even caught you writing your initials in hearts!”

“Aww babe, you did?” Maggie teased. She decided to cut her girlfriend some slack. “Lena would have her assistant clear her schedule for hours when she knew Kara was going to be there. Also, how can we forget that she bought a 750 million dollar company for her?”

The couples continued to squabble while Eliza watched on with a fond smile. It was clear the couples loved each other dearly and the sisters got along well with each other’s girlfriends. It warmed her heart knowing her girls found happiness.

They resumed eating, poking fun at each other every chance they could, and Lena found herself feeling completely at ease. Having Maggie’s familiar sarcastic self helped her feel comfortable. She was talking to Alex about the DEO’s newest direction when sirens echoed throughout the street.

“Sounds like an emergency.” Kara glanced at Lena who nodded. It was okay. “Be right back.” She whipped her glasses off and sped out through the window.

Eliza pushed her empty plate to the side. “Supergirl’s new suit looks incredible. You made it yourself?” The older woman’s attention was fully on the CEO.

Lena focused on the feeling of her suit under her clothes. “Yeah, I did. I had been working with some nanotechnology and I figured she could use a bit of an upgrade. I was unsure about the pants, but she fell in love with those right away.”

“You also make Spider-Woman’s suit too, correct? I heard she’s dating Supergirl, but you’re dating her. Is it an open relationship? Are all three of you together?” Lena looked to Alex and Maggie for help. They averted their gazes. “I understand if it’s too personal, I’m just curious is all.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Lena pursed her lips. “To the public, Spider-Woman and Supergirl are dating and Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers are dating. In all actuality - oh, one minute please.” Lena picked up her phone. “Captain Saenz?”

“Spider-Woman! There’s a metahuman down at the pier. Supergirl is currently occupied and we could use your help.”

“The pier? Hold your men back, I’ll be there in less than 10 minutes.” Lena disconnected the line. She stood up and rummaged through her purse.

“What’s going on? What about Supergirl?” Alex asked.

“The Captain said there’s a metahuman problem but Kara is occupied with something else.” She pulled her gloves out and put them on.

Eliza studied Lena. “So, you’re actually Spider-Woman?”

“It’s a long story.” She kicked her shoes off and awkwardly shimmied out of her jeans. She put the mask on and ripped her shirt open, exposing the black spider emblem in the middle. “I’ve been dying to do that at least once.” She tapped her bracelet and watch to release her hidden web-shooters. “Sorry to cut this short, but I’m sure they can catch you up.” Spider-Woman opened the window and jumped out into the open air.

As she approached the beach, she could see yellow electricity encircling the ferris wheel. What a coincidence that it was another electric meta. Too bad the name Livewire was already taken.

“Incoming call from Supergirl and Maggie Sawyer. Would you like to answer?”

“Put them through, Hope.” Lena couldn’t see too much due to the massive amount of lights around her. “Filter in less light, please.” Hope dimmed the lenses and she was able to see a man standing in the center of the chaos.

“Lena, there’s something happening towards the beach. I would go but there’s an alien problem.” Kara grunted and Lena heard glass being smashed.

Maggie laughed. “Don’t worry about it, Danvers. Spider-Woman is already at the scene, right?”

The Spider climbed a building to get a better vantage point. “That is correct. He’s just… waiting there. Whenever police come near him, he sends a power wave at them to keep them back. He has some hostages.”

A car door slammed. “Usually when they’re waiting like that, they want one of you to show up.”

“You’ve got this, Spidey?”

“Yep. I’ll see if I can throw him off guard.” She leaped off the building and spread her arms so the wings could help her glide to his position.

Once she landed on the pier, his attention was fully on her. Within seconds, thousands of volts of electricity traveled through her body. She screamed and writhed in pain.

“Lena! Are you okay?”

She was on her hands and knees, chest heaving. “I probably shouldn’t have gone  _ charging _ in.” God, she needed Leslie to teach her how to absorb the power because she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to handle being shocked like that again.

“So, Spider, it seems like you’ve finally joined us. I’ve been waiting for you,” the man spoke. He had a green suit of sorts with wires coming out of it. His face was scarred and the shadows from the lights casted an ominous shadow over it.

“Wait, if Spidey is there and you’re on your way Maggie, what did you tell Eliza?”

Spider-Woman stayed a good ten feet away. A helicopter was circling overhead recording the fight. “You’re  _ sparking _ up the wrong tree, buddy. Let the people go and we can talk about this.”

Maggie sighed. “Can you go one fight without making puns?” The man shot a bolt towards her which the vigilante easily flipped to avoid. “Lena exposed herself as Spider-Woman and jumped out the window. Eliza was very concerned and confused.”

The Spider shot some webs but they disintegrated once it reached the man. That was not good. “So what’s your name, Sparky? And what’s your vendetta against me?”

“She did what?” Kara gasped.

“You’re saying you don’t remember, Spider-Woman? No, because you only care about yourself, right?” He jeered. “This place doesn’t bring back any memories? Maybe I should blow these people up to recreate the scene.”

“Guys, I’m currently a little occupied, so don’t mind me.” Kara and Maggie continued to talk, but Lena tried to recall what happened here. “The BetaHedron! There was one casualty, Maxwell Dillon. That’s you.” Fuck, how could she have forgotten? She did have a million other things going on with CatCo and her new powers and-

“It’s Electro!” He growled. The citizens who were trapped on the rides screamed. The ferris wheel started to spin faster than normal and the coaster was starting to pick up speed as well.

“Okay, okay. Electro. This is between you and me, right? Leave the people out of this.”

The man sneered but waved his hands. The rides stopped but they were still trapped. She needed to find a way to stop him without endangering those people’s lives.

He brandished his electric whips and licked his lips. “Let’s see what you’ve got, Spider.”

Lena relied on her Spider-Sense to dodge the weapons. Her suit was full of technology and it was already hit once - she knew it wasn’t going to survive another big hit. Despite the machinery on him, Electro was fast. He matched Lena hit for hit and he wouldn’t allow her to get any closer.

“Alright Hope, we’re switching the webs for the prototype. Is there enough?” Her foot was caught in the whip and she was thrown into a nearby shop.

“There is enough of the coolant for approximately one cartridge,” the AI noted. That’d have to do.

Spider-Woman jolted up and set the knick-knacks she knocked over back onto the shelf. “I’ll pay for these damages later.” Glass from snowglobes and the window were scattered all over the place. She felt bad for the person who would have to clean it up. “Switch out the right cartridge. How long will it take?”

“4 minutes and 37 seconds, Boss.” The suit clicked then made a whirring sound signaling the start of the process. Recently, she had been trying to simulate a fire extinguisher in web form. There had been a couple of times during fights when fires had been started, so she figured she could add in goop to extinguish them if there was ever a need. It wasn’t ready, but trying it against Electro would be a good test run.

“This is all you’ve got, Spider-Woman? I honestly expected more from you,” he taunted.

The Spider circled him slowly looking for weak points. She was sure the wires in his suit were helping to charge him. If she could somehow get close to him and unplug them…

“Were you expecting an acrobatic show? If I do a couple of flips, will you be satisfied?”

He narrowed his eyes and the lights on the pier brightened. “I wouldn’t be joking around if I were you. I’ve been studying your moves, Spider. It’s my job to take you down and I fully intend to.” He rushed her.

Lena opened her stance to take him on hand-to-hand. “Your job? What, are you being paid to make a fool of yourself? I mean, have you seen your suit? You could’ve done better. Green is  _ so _ not your color.” She blocked a couple of charged punches. Once she gauged his reaction time and fighting style, she started on the offense.

He growled and tried to swipe at her feet. Spider-Woman jumped up and landed on his shoulders. He started to stumble around from the weight.

“Get off of me!” He was pulling on her leg but Lena didn’t budge. Instead, she bent backward and started to unplug wires.

“Oh, lookie! You’re lit up like a Christmas tree!” Once everything was unplugged, she jumped off and admired her handy work.

“You fool! They put those there to keep the electricity from overwhelming my body. Oh, he’s going to be so mad.” His whole body was engulfed in yellow light. “Until we meet again, Spider-Woman!” A blinding light caused her to avert her eyes. When she opened them, he was gone.

The Ferris Wheel started to creak and people were screaming. It was about to fall into the ocean. The Web-Head extended both her wrists but the goop shot out of the right one.

“Oh,  _ zap _ .” She grabbed onto the only web that shot and started to pull. That made the Ferris Wheel off-center and it started to turn. People were dangling off the side.

She ran past the ride and launched herself over the pier. She quickly made a web and caught a man who fell out of the cart. Once she was sure there was a safety net, she placed the man on the floor and started to pull the wheel back. The whole ride shook but she managed to put it in its original position. Then, she used her goop webs as super glue to keep it from falling. Cart by cart, Spider-Woman took the passengers and brought them down. By the time she was done, Maggie had arrived.

“He got away?”

Lena nodded. “He’s long gone by now. I think he’s working for someone.”

Maggie pulled out her notepad. “Why? What’d he say?”

“When I messed with the suit he said “they” put it there for a reason and that “he” would be mad. He also said it was his “job” to take me down. I doubt it’s Lex since he’s so far away. So my guesses go to Fisk or Norman.”

“We can’t go accusing anybody just yet, but I’m betting your right.” She checked the time on her phone. “Kara should be at Alex’s by now. I need to get eye-witness accounts and then write a report so I won’t be able to go with you. Tell Alex I’ll be home late and not to wait up.”

The Wall-Crawler wrung her hands. “Do I actually have to go back? I mean, I kind of exposed myself and left in the middle of dinner like a horrific dinner guest.”

“Yes. Eliza understands, I promise. Now stop stalling and get a move on, Fangs. It’s getting cold.”

“Fangs?”

Maggie shoved the hero. “Stop stalling. Go on.” Lena pouted but shot her left web-shooter and started off into the night.

“Hope, can you reverse the web-shooter?”

“Unfortunately, some of the systems have been fried. I cannot.”

Lena hated swinging with one arm. It left her feeling sore and stiff the next day. She swung particularly high to take off her right glove and roll the sleeve of the suit up so she could use her own webbing. By the time she made it to Alex’s, she felt disoriented and tired. She was never going to use the fake webs with her own again. She crashed into two buildings and went face-first into a wall because of how uneven it felt.

Kara must’ve heard her land on the wall since she opened the window. Spidey climbed inside and onto the ceiling before dropping onto the ground. Eliza and Alex were on the couch watching TV but they turned when they heard the thud. Lena reached for her mask and pulled it off in one swift move. It was such a relief to have fresh air hit her face.

“Sorry for leaving early. There was a new meta,” she tried to explain.

Kara walked over to her and whispered, “your hair is sticking up.” Lena tried to pat it down but ended up jolting herself and getting webs in her hair. She was such a mess.

Eliza gave her a sympathetic smile. “We saw the news. I wouldn’t think you were one for puns.”

Alex smirked as Lena blushed. “Maggie finds them funny most of the time. It also keeps my mind off the danger,” she awkwardly explained.

“I think they’re brilliant. Kara, honey, why don’t you heat your girlfriend up some leftovers? I bet crime-fighting tires you out, right?” Eliza walked over to the kitchen and filled a glass for Lena. She set it down and gestured for the woman to sit.

Lena knew Eliza wasn’t up to anything but it was odd to have a practically complete stranger be nice and treat her with compassion. “It does,” she answered somewhat stiffly. “My suit short-circuited and I broke one of my web-shooters so I had to use my own webbing to get here.” Good thing she had Hope change the bracelet web-shooter. She wouldn’t know what to do if the watch was damaged.

The eldest Danvers found the last fact intriguing. “You make your own web fluid naturally?”

Kara set the food down and sat next to Lena, taking her hand under the table. She even gave it an extra squeeze for reassurance.

“I do.”

All four women discussed Lena’s physiology as she ate. Alex described the differences between Lena pre and post spider bite and Kara explained the powers. Eliza found everything fascinating - being a doctor for aliens and all - and asked questions in which Lena would answer. By the time her plate was empty, she felt comfortable and at ease. Talking about something familiar to her helped calm her nerves.

“Let me take your plate, sweetheart. Do you want to change into something more comfortable? I’m sure Alex wouldn’t mind lending you something to wear.” Eliza’s warm smile reminded Lena of a memory hidden away deep in her mind. Was this what a loving mother was like? For the longest, all she could remember was Lillian's cruel sneer.

She felt like crying. “No, it’s alright. I should get going, actually. I promised my friend, Sam, I would go with her to take her daughter to her first day of 8th grade tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, that sounds nice. We should have another get together before Kara and J’onn leave for Mars. What do you think?”

“That sounds like a great idea.” It wasn’t an absolute lie at least. “It was nice meeting you, Dr. Danvers.”

“Call me Eliza, honey.” It seemed as if she was going to ignore the handshake and go for a hug, but she decided against it. “It was nice meeting you, Lena.” Eliza squeezed the vigilante’s hand and patted her shoulder. Lena nodded.

Supergirl was holding Lena’s purse and coat. “I’ll fly us home.” She must have sensed that Lena was close to breaking down. “I’ll make sure to be extra early on Wednesday. I love you.” The alien hugged her foster mother and sister before bending over so the Spider could hop on her back. Lena shoved the mask over her head and climbed on.

Once home, the super couple did their nightly routine in silence. It wasn’t until they were under the covers that Lena broke the silence. “She’s so nice.” Her voice broke and so did the dam that held back her tears.

“Shh, it’s okay.” Kara turned Lena around so they were face-to-face. The smaller woman ducked into the crook of Kara’s neck and cried into it. “She really likes you.” That made her cry harder. “Did I say something wrong?” The blonde panicked.

Lena sniffed hard. “She’s just met me and she treated me so nicely. She reminded me of my mother,” she rushed out.

Kara seemed to understand right away. “I get what you mean. Eliza is a super mom. And now that she has you in her sights, she’s going to smother you in love and mother you til the day you die.”

“You already smother me in love, though.” She didn’t want to take away any attention.

“Well, now you’re gonna be loved extra. Eliza takes in strays. There’s me, then Maggie, and now you. She has such a big heart and she wants to make sure we’re all happy. When we have kids, she’s going to love them, too. It’s never-ending.”

Lena pulled her head back slightly to look at her girlfriend. “You want to have kids with me?”

Kara tensed at her slip up. “...yeah,” she said in a small voice. When Lena didn’t answer, she started to ramble. “I mean, why wouldn’t I want to have kids with you? You’re amazing and I know you’re going to be such an amazing mom to our children. And like, you’re the love of my life. I’m  _ in _ love with you. And I know this sounds absolutely crazy, but I feel like we are meant to be together. Being with you is so natural and so freeing, I know Rao put you in my path. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I know I’m the happiest when I’m with you.”

Lena’s tears started to fall at a faster rate. “Kara, you have made my life so much better. It is filled with happiness and compassion and  _ hope _ . I was never one for love but you came along and filled me with so much love, I don’t know how I survived for years without it. I would cross the whole multiverse for you, Kara Zor-El. I love you so much it scares me at times.” She frantically tried to wipe her tears away. “But I’m putting a limit at two kids.”

Kara laughed through her own tears. “Can we have a dog? And a cat?”

“Of course, darling. If you find a stray we can keep it.”

“Good.”

“You two are my favorite couple.”

The couple laughed at the AI. “Thank you, Hope. You’re my favorite AI,” Kara complimented. The lights brightened in glee.

“Goodnight, Hope.” The lights flickered before turning off. “Goodnight, love.”

“Goodnight.”

They pressed their bodies together and took in each other’s presence. Lena was so lucky to have Kara in her life. Without her, she’d quite literally be dead. She decided not to think about that but instead think of the future. That night, she dreamed of Kara and a baby girl with a golden retriever pup.

  
  


_ [Spidey - NCWallCrawler] _

_ It was unfair of Electro to destroy the pier. I’ll be helping with the rebuilding! I love watching the lights on the ferris wheel from afar. _

_ (Attached is a photo of National City at sunset) _

  
  


Lena slipped out of bed to make a quick breakfast. Once she finished her food, she left a note for Kara with a plate full of food. She set the Golden Spider on her chest and smiled as the cool metal spread over her skin.

As she approached Sam’s house, Spider-Woman activated the glimmer so no one could see her enter.

“Good morning, Auntie Lena,” Ruby chirped from the kitchen table. She didn’t even glance up from her bowl of cereal.

“Morning, Ruby.” Lena pocketed her suit. “Where’s your mom?”

“Still getting ready.”

Lena hummed and approached the table. “Did she already go through the checklist? You have everything?”

The child rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mum. It’s the first day of 8th grade, we’re not going to do anything hard-hitting.”

“I’m a CEO and she’s a CFO. Do you expect any less of us?” She ruffled Ruby’s hair. The preteen hit her hand and pouted. “What’s taking Sam so long? I want to make sure we get there early so we can look for your schedule and introduce ourselves to your homeroom teacher.”

“Please don’t embarrass me.” She took her empty bowl and placed it in the sink.

“We would never purposely embarrass you, Rubes.” Sam walked into the kitchen as she was putting her hair into a ponytail. “You ready?”

“We’ve been ready,” Lena joked.

Sam tied off her hair and reached for a granola bar. “Right, sorry. Everyone in the car, I’ll be there in a second.”

Ruby and Lena exchanged looks before heading to the car. Ruby had a Supergirl backpack signed by the hero herself as well as a Spider-Woman lunch box.

“You have our numbers memorized, right? And you have the Spider Tracker just in case? Is your phone fully charged?”

“Yes, yes, and yes.” Lena could tell Ruby was exasperated but she wanted to make sure the child was going to be safe.

Sam hopped into the driver’s seat and started the car. “You’ve got everything?”

“Yes. And my phone is fully charged. And I have the Spider Tracker in case of an emergency and I remember both your numbers plus Kara’s, Maggie’s, and Jess’. I also know Harry is going to pick me up. I can show off my stuff but when asked, I don’t know Supergirl or Spider-Woman personally. I met them through Mom’s work with Lena. Is that all?”

Lena had to give her credit, she was a smart kid.

Sam pulled out of the driveway. “We’re making sure all of our bases are covered. This is a new school in a new place for you. I want everything to go well for you.”

Ruby’s grumpiness subsided. “I know. And I love you both for caring, but I’ll be okay. If anything happens, Harley and Felicia taught me how to throw a proper punch.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Sam muttered. At least her kid could protect herself if the need ever arisen. “Since Harley is well… Harley… Felicia will pick you up from school unless I specifically tell you otherwise, okay? On Harley’s days, she’ll drop you off with her.”

“Okay. They’re together, like, all the time anyway. Sometimes, Felicia stays with Ivy at the lab, though. Jess will send me pictures of them together.”

“I can’t even comment because I’ve been there,” Lena sighed.

Sam grinned. “Maybe we should help push them together. A nudge in the right direction won’t hurt.”

“I think Harley would be the easiest one to talk to about it.”

“Great, you’ll talk to her about it after your therapy session with her.” Sam parked the car. “Come on, Rubes, we’re here.” The pre-teen snapped up from her phone and unbuckled her seatbelt. Grumbling, Lena followed them out.

The trio headed to the front office. Sam had a couple of documents she had to drop off and sign and they needed to get Ruby’s schedule. Lena went along since Sam had appointed her one of Ruby’s legal guardians.

(she did not cry when she found out no matter how much Sam and Kara insisted that she did)

Lena had done a background check on all the staff members and didn’t see any red flags. When they walked in, all eyes went on them and most stayed on Lena. There were looks of awe, some of fear, and two of disgust.

“Hello, I’m Samantha Arias and I’m here to finish the enrollment for my daughter, Ruby Arias?”

The receptionist tore her eyes away from Lena to Sam. “O-Of course. We’ll, uh, help you right out. Actually, if Ms. Luthor and your daughter could wait outside? Just, so, uh, it doesn’t get crowded in here.”

Sam narrowed her eyes and was about to go off, but Lena decided to be civil. “It will be no problem. Though, next time, it would be respectful to address me directly. Come on, Ruby.” Lena turned on her heel and smirked at the receptionist's stuttered heartbeat.

They sat on the chairs outside where no people paid them any mind. Ruby was swinging her legs as they waited. “Why was she scared of you?”

Lena pursed her lips. “People fear the Luthor name because of Lex and Lillian. They assume I’m like them.”

“That’s stupid. You’ve literally saved so many lives with your technology and you’re pro-alien!”

“People will think whatever they want to think. Their opinion doesn’t matter to me.” Lena paused. “If you hear any kids badmouthing me, you leave it alone, okay? I am not worth getting into a fight for. There will always be people who will blame me for my family’s actions. I promise they don’t hurt my feelings.”

Ruby frowned. She didn’t understand. “But you’re amazing, Lena. If only they knew exactly how much you do for the city.”

Lena smiled sadly at the child. She wrapped her arm around her. “One day, everyone will find out and they’ll feel extremely stupid for judging me when they don’t even know me. So, I want you to smile because you have something over them. Not everyone has it in them to be a Lena stan.”

“Lena stans are kind of crazy stalkerish. I’m like 86% sure some of them know about your after-hour activities.”

“Perhaps. Maybe I should do a deep dive on Twitter and integrate the people who seem like they know and have them sign NDAs.”

“They’ll be happy you talked to them. Might faint and die from shock. I don’t know why. You’re a total dork.”

The two bickered playfully and didn’t notice Sam had been watching with a fond look until she cleared her throat. “Are you two done? I want to meet your homeroom teacher before other children start coming.”

It was still early, approaching a quarter til 7, but Sam was right, people would start filing in. Lena was serious when she said she didn’t mind if people didn’t like her, but she would rather avoid those people if she could.

The small family walked the campus until they found room 305. The door was open and they saw a woman sitting at her desk. Ruby walked in first.

“Mrs. Sanders?” She tentatively asked. The teacher looked up from her laptop.

“Is it time already?” She stood up, wiped her hands on her trousers, and shook their hands. “Oh, I know the two of you. The CEO and CFO of L-Corp.”

“That’s us,” Sam confirmed. “We know we’re early, but we wanted to introduce ourselves. Ruby and I just moved here from Metropolis and she’s skipped a year, so I’m worried she might have some trouble settling in and making friends.”

“Mom!” Ruby hissed. She started to blush.

The teacher looked amused. “Don’t be embarrassed Ruby, it’s a genuine concern. How about you pick a seat while we talk?” The pre-teen shuffled off to a seat in the corner, directly in front of the teacher’s desk but at a spot she could still see the board. “Does she have any disabilities I should know about?”

Sam shook her head. The two women spoke to the teacher and Lena took care to look around the classroom as well as to vibe check Mrs. Sanders. There was nothing suspicious at all and the woman was an open book with no problems. A couple of kids started to trickle in.

“Thank you for your time, Mrs. Sanders. We should get going to L-Corp now, Eve is probably wondering where we are.”

“It was an honor meeting you, Ms. Luthor, Ms. Arias. I keep up with L-Corp’s work and I can’t wait to see what comes out next. I’ll keep an eye on your kid and help her get settled in.”

“Thank you.” They shook hands before Sam and Lena waved Ruby goodbye and left the classroom. Once in the car, Sam rested her head on the steering wheel. “I just need a minute.”

“I’m in no rush.” Lena rubbed her friend’s back. “I’ll let Eve know we’ll be in a bit later. How about we go grab breakfast? A granola bar hardly is food.”

Sam cracked a smile at that. “I stayed up all night working on the merger and going over the school rules. I hadn’t realized I was up so late.”

“I understand. How about I drive and you rest? After all, you’ve got a meeting with Ciera Trollinger.” The CEO wasn’t self-centered like Edge nor was she a menace like Fisk, but she liked to  _ talk _ . It was hard to end a meeting with her early.

She sat up and nodded. Once they switched, Sam buckled herself in. “Don’t you have a meeting with Lord today?”

“Do I?” She hadn’t had a chance to look at her schedule for the day yet. “And here I thought I could get away with being in the R&D department all day.”

“What are you working on, anyway? You haven’t told me about your latest project.”

Lena stopped at the red light and raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t?” Come to think of it, she hadn’t even told Kara about it. “I’m in the finishing stages of my alien disease diagnosis machine. I’ve asked my employees about common illnesses among them and I’ve gathered enough information for a basic diagnoser with treatments. It’s nothing big, but it’s a start.”

“Nothing big?” Sam turned as much as she could to face her boss. “Lena, this is huge! How does this not have any coverage?”

“Snapper asked for nothing to be leaked until it’s finished and ready to be distributed. Also, I’m still waiting on the patent to go through. While my team is working on that, I’m in the beginning stages of creating an image inducer for aliens who wish to blend. They can use it to make themselves look human. It might take a whole year to finish since I want to make it as cost-efficient as I can.”

“You’re a hero in and out of the suit,” Sam praised.

Lean decided to change the subject. “So, we’re having Harley’s birthday party this Saturday, right? Should I get a cake? Hire a clown? What does a surprise party even entail?”

“Felicia’s got the cake covered. Jess and Maggie are going to come over Friday after work to help me decorate the house. It’s going to be a pool party, but I’ll be sure to have things to do inside as well.”

Lena parked the car and headed out. “Harley says exposure therapy would help me. With everyone there, I may get in the pool.”

“Really?” Sam opened the door. “That’s great! I’ll be sure to tell Ruby to not force you in. Hey, besides the squad, who else should we invite?” She then gestured for two at the waiter.

“Kara is going to Mars with J’onn, I’m not sure if she’ll be back in time for the party, but we could invite Winn and James. You’ve met Winn before, right?”

“Yeah, at the Star Wars movie marathon. I’ve only briefly talked to James, but he seems like a nice guy.” They sat down and skimmed over the iHop menu. “When’s Kara leaving?”

“Tomorrow. Oh, I haven’t told you about Eliza’s surprise visit yet, have I?”

They gossiped as they ate, oblivious to the world around them. It was easy talking to Sam. She had almost no filter and was easily entertained. Lena was so comfortable with Sam, she almost slipped up with talking about Spider-Woman in first person in case anyone overheard.

Sam paid for the bill while Lena ordered a stack of pancakes to go for Eve. With full stomachs, they headed to the office for a long day of meetings.

_ [Kara: Leslie said she’d be happy to have another session with you today if you’re available! _

_ Lena: That sounds like a good idea. I want to learn how to absorb energy like she does _

_ Kara: Okie dokie. Supergirl will pick you up at 6 _

_ Have a good day! (string of heart emojis) _

_ Lena: You too, darling <3] _

“And I would agree to these terms, why?” Lena scoffed at the business proposition.

Maxwell pouted. “Oh, come on Lena. 20% revenue is good! All I’m asking for is a collaboration with my newest line of security systems.”

“Which you want some of my tech for. 20%, really? That’s an insult.”

“You’re right. 25%?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Fine, name your price.”

“45% of the revenue and I want to see the final product before it goes for sale. I don’t want to associate myself with anything mediocre.” She leaned back in her chair and smirked at him.

He seemed to think his options through. “You drive a hard bargain, Lena Luthor. 40% and we have a deal. You should also know nothing Lord Technologies makes is mediocre. Now,  _ that  _ is an insult.”

“I suppose that’s a fair statement. Send Eve the paperwork and I’ll have everything sent to you by the end of the week.”

The businessman started to pack his papers into his briefcase. “I’ve got to hand it to you, you’re doing a good job running two companies. I’m kind of jealous.”

Lena stood up to pour herself a glass of water. “I wouldn’t be a Luthor if I couldn’t juggle more than two things at once.”

“That’s right. It seems you’ve been busy more so than ever. Spider-Woman.”

“What?” She turned to face him. He was standing tall, searching her face for any giveaways.

“I said, with Spider-Woman. You make her tech, right? Oh, how I’d love to see that suit.”

“Hmm.” His heart was spluttering in his chest. She would have to ask Felicia to snoop around his business to see if he knew anything. “Do you remember how you owe me a favor?”

His expression turned sour. “Yes.”

“Just making sure. Please tell Eve to let R&D know I’ll be heading down soon on your way out.”

She drank from her glass casually as he headed out. She was saving the favor to possibly gain information on Fisk through him, but she would use it to stay away from her alter-ego if she needed to….

Why were people so adamant to find out who Spider-Woman was? There was a whole point to covering her whole body so no one could find anything out. She was even extra careful with making sure Spider-Woman was out the same time Lena Luthor was working as well as taking pictures of them together. Kara was literally the worst at keeping her identity a secret yet people didn’t seem to want to know who she was. They probably wanted a face to go with the mask. What if Lena changed the full face mask to a domino one? No, they’d figure her out easy. Oh well.

She placed the glass down and headed out of the office to the elevators. Some science will help her keep her mind off of things.

_ [Lena: Can you ask Black Cat to see what information Maxwell Lord has on Spider-Woman? _

_ Felicia: What makes you think I know Black Cat? _

_ Just because we’re both beautiful women??? Thought you were better than that Lena _

_ Lena: I’ll reward her with catnip. _

_ F: eye emoji _

_ So I do know Black Cat and she said she’d do it if she also gets a ball of yarn _

_ L: Why do I even put up with you? _

_ F: Because you love me] _

Lena stood in the empty field in her Spider-Woman mask waiting for Supergirl to return with Leslie. Livewire was going to try to teach the Spider how to absorb electricity.

“Hey, Spider. Is it just me, or has Supergirl gained more muscle?” Leslie squeezed the alien’s bicep.

“I’m going to drop you,” Kara warned.

Lena shook her head. “I think she’s as hard as ever.” She threw a wink to her girlfriend knowing she’d see it despite the mask. “I’m actually eager to learn how to do this. Not only will it come in handy in the fight with Electro, but also in the lab.”

“The lab? Of course you’re a giant nerd, too. Is that a requirement for being a superhero?” Leslie snorted.

“Could be. Is that the reason you’re not up to the task? Because you’re not smart enough?” Even though they’ve only had a handful of sessions together, the two metahumans have bonded and had bantered with each other naturally.

Livewire rolled her shoulders back and cracked her knuckles. “This is going to be a long and painful session. And I’m going to enjoy every second of it.”

“Oh, bring it  _ ohm _ .”

Lena was  _ not _ having a fun time. Her fingers were charred, her teeth felt numb, and she’s pretty sure her nerves were mad at her.

“Let’s take a break,” Leslie decided.

Kara looked up from her work. “How are you feeling, babe?”

“Being shocked over and over again leaves a  _ power _ taste in my mouth. And it  _ hertz _ .”

“How do you have puns for everything?”

Spider-Woman shrugged. “Wordplay is fun and I partake in it whenever I can. By now, it’s a chip off the old  _ shock _ .”

Livewire leaned back to rest on her hands. “If we were enemies, I’d hate fighting you. I can appreciate the jokes now in conversation, but if I was trying to beat you up, you dodging and joking around would drive me mad,” she said honestly.

“I try to fight the  _ surge _ , I really do, but there are so many good opportunities.”

“Luthor doesn’t find them annoying? I feel like she wouldn’t be one for lame jokes.”

Kara choked on air.

The Spider shrugged. “She doesn’t mind them too much, actually. Hey, did you ever meet up with Harley?”

“Yeah. She’s not that bad, surprisingly.”

“We’re throwing her a surprise party this Saturday. Kara can send you the details if you’re interested.”

The white-haired woman looked taken aback for a second before realizing that the vigilante was being serious. “Can I bring my partner?”

“The more the merrier. I won’t be there, duty calls and all that, but I’m sure you’ll have fun without me.”

The sun had sunk long ago, the moon high in the sky. Supergirl had gone to help out with a fire and she returned with dinner. Lena was beyond tired, she was ready to go home and collapse into bed with Kara.

“Are you  _ positively _ sure you’ve got the basics down?” Leslie asked around a mouthful of curry.

Lena looked to Kara to answer for her since she had her mask up. “She’s sure. She’s also going to practice on her own, right?” The Wall-Crawler gave a thumbs up.

“I hope you kick some major ass so my training doesn’t go to waste. I mean, who names themselves Electro?”

Lena gave Kara a look in which she translated to: “And Livewire is much better?”

“It’s creepy how well you know each other.”

When the food was finished, Lena took to cleaning everything up while Supergirl took Leslie off to wherever she went after sessions.

“Ready to go home?”

“So ready. I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight.”

Kara woke earlier than usual to make breakfast. She hadn’t bought groceries since she was going to be off-planet for a couple of days, but she had enough for some omelets. She was humming along as she cooked, a cheerful tune she couldn’t remember where the name of.

“Good morning, darling. Food smells good.” Lena wrapped her arms around Kara from behind and rested her chin on the taller woman’s shoulder.

Kara leaned back some to bask in Lena’s warmth. “I guess all those cooking lessons paid off. Right, Chef Luthor?”

Lena giggled lightly. It was music to Kara’s ears. “Mmm, I suppose so, Chef Danvers.” She kissed Kara’s cheek before starting a pot of coffee. 

They made light conversation throughout their morning. Lena had chosen a pair of slacks and a blouse whereas Kara had a beautiful sundress. Today, Lena was going to drive them to work since she had left her car there the day before.

For a Wednesday morning, CatCo was alight with activity. Kara went to her desk as Lena was called into James’s office. She walked in and noticed Snapper was sitting on a couch studying her.

“Good morning, James. What breaking story are we working on today?”

“Good morning, Lena.” He was leaning on his desk observing the reporters in the bullpen scurrying around. “We’re covering the fight that happened on Monday and we got some pictures of Livewire and Spider-Woman working together yesterday.”

“You did?” Lena hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings since they were in such a remote area. “What are you going to publish about it?”

Snapper eyed her. She felt like he was the one with super hearing. That he was the one who could hear her heart hammering in her chest.

“We’re reassuring everyone that our beloved Spider is using all of her resources to bring this Electro fellow down since Supergirl will be off-planet for a few days. Well, not that they know that,” James said.

“Yes. We’re going to write about how Livewire is teaching Spider-Woman how to control her new power. That has to do with electricity. And since they’re new, they are hard to control.”

James looked at the reporter with confusion. “Uh, yeah… Anyway. Is Spider-Woman close to finding this guy or knowing how to defeat him?”

“She’ll beat him next time for sure, but the NCPD still doesn’t have any leads nor does she. He vanished suddenly in a flash of white light.” She hurriedly added, “Or so I’ve heard.”

“Okay. That will be all, thank you both for your time.”

Lena nodded stiffly and exited out of the room after Snapper, following him into an empty conference room. “Whatever you think you know, you’re wrong,” she started.

“I don’t think I know anything. I’m a reporter, I know facts.” Snapper placed his folder down and crossed his arms. “I told you I’m too busy to investigate you, but there surely are a lot of coincidences with you. Not to mention Kara and Supergirl.”

Okay, she had to give him that. Someone was bound to notice at least Kara’s disappearance with Supergirl’s appearances. “I'm not confirming or denying anything.”

“You don’t have to. I’m surprised the two of you are working in a building full of supposedly the best reporters around and no one has noticed. I mean, does Jimmy know?”

The act was up and she knew it. “Not about Spider-Woman’s identity. How did you find out about Supergirl?”

“Oh, please,” he scoffed. “I found the buttons to her shirts all over the floor, she goes from one side to the other side of the city quickly without a car, she and Supergirl are never at the same place at the same time, and I’ve seen her break things when she’s frustrated,” he listed off. “I think once I saw her rip her shirt off and fly out of a window.”

“Her new suit helps with the shirt thing, at least.” Lena started typing a text message to Jess since she had all the files she would need. “You wouldn’t mind signing NDA’s, would you? I’m very protective of their secret identities.”

“Not like I actually have a choice,” he snorted. “Well now that that’s out of the way, try to keep the property damage on the low. The city isn’t too happy about the pier being destroyed.”

Lena scowled. “That wasn’t even my fault. I’m paying for everything out of pocket regardless and Spider-Woman is going to use her strength to help the rebuilding process, but go off I guess.”

He scrunched his eyebrows. Go off? “Alright, well, if we’re done here, I’ve articles to write.”

“Right.” She nodded at him and watched as he left the room. She had a feeling he wouldn’t want an invitation to the spider squad or the spider friends.

At least she didn’t have to avoid him anymore or have him staring at her all day. She decided to head down to the photography department to try and find out how those pictures were taken.

-

“Hey Kara, Lena,” Alex welcomed as she opened the door.

“Hey, Alex. I brought white wine.” Lena offered the bottle to her.

Alex gladly took it. “The good stuff, too. You’re already a part of the family, Luthor. You don’t need to suck up.”

“She can always take it back and not indulge in your drinking habits,” Maggie mocked as she came to greet her friends.

Kara gasped in mock horror. “Maggie saying no to drinking? Are we sure we haven’t accidentally transported ourselves into another universe?”

Maggie elbowed her. “I’m a responsible adult! I did manage to become a well-known detective, you know.”

“Remember that time you had me do a drinking challenge with an alien because you found out I couldn’t get drunk easily? Or that time you gave me pot brownies? Or that time at the beach-”

“Okay, okay, I think I’ve got it.”

“No, no. Let her continue,” Eliza teased. “Hello, Kara, Lena. It’s nice seeing you two again.” Kara hugged her foster mom and Eliza settled with squeezing Lena’s elbow.

“Hopefully our dinner doesn’t get interrupted early this time,” Lena joked.

Maggie’s grin grew. “I don’t know, seeing you rip off your shirt and jump out the window was a nice change of pace.”

Lena flipped her off when Eliza turned her back. “I guess wearing the suit under my clothes helped add a dramatic flair. I have the Iron Spider rings this time, so no clothes will be harmed if I need to step out.”

“You name your suits?” Eliza questioned.

“Yeah, it helps me keep track of them.” Seeing the older woman’s open expression, Lena decided to go into detail. “The very first suit I made, that I still have to repair thinking about it, I refer to as my original suit. The black bulletproof suit with the golden spider I refer to as the Mark II or Hope’s suit. The red and blue with the white spider emblem I’ve dubbed the Advanced Suit. My newest nanotechnology one with the extra limbs is the Iron Spider and the one I created recently is the Insulation Suit.”

“So original,” Maggie made fun of as she set the table.

Kara blew some cold air at Maggie. “It’s a nerdy science thing. Winn names his inventions and Cisco names villains.”

“Oh, did I tell you I finally cracked Felicity’s hack cube? I beat Cisco’s time by 18 hours.”

“Felicity and Cisco as in your Earth-1 friends?”

Alex nodded. “Lena managed to create a group chat a whole 30 some earths away just so they could play nerd games with each other.”

Eliza was shocked by the information. “I’m no genius when it comes to parallel earths, but isn’t that impossible?”

“Not for Lena,” Kara beamed. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - she’s going to save the world!”

“Okay, love, settle down,” Lena blushed. “Alex was telling me that she wants to build a red sunroom in the DEO to get rid of the Kryptonite. What’s going to happen with the Kryptonite?”

“Kara is going to destroy it. If we do ever need the substance for whatever reason, she said you know how to make it?” Lena was surprised there was no hostility or accusation in Alex’s tone.

“Yes. I’ve been analyzing the components and going over Lillian's notes. She was close to getting it right, and I’m thankful her numbers were off. For a genius, she didn’t check her work and run simulations.”

Kara hooked their ankles together under the table. “Good thing, too. Hey, aren’t you making an alien medical device? Why don’t you have Eliza go to L-Corp to give her professional opinion?”

“Oh, no, that’s okay, I really wouldn’t want to impede,” she tried.

“I think that’s a great idea, actually. You’re an expert in this field and I could use a professional set of eyes. If you don’t want to though, I totally understand.”

“Are you sure?” Eliza knew how stand-offish people get when it came to their work.

Lena waved her hand. “Of course. It’d be an honor having you swing by L-Corp.”

Alex pouted. “I’ve never been invited to L-Corp…”

Dinner went smoothly and Lena was significantly less tense than the other day. She was told embarrassing stories about Alex and Kara growing up. Eliza even came prepared with pictures of Alex in her punk rock phase. There was one where Kara was in an ACDC shirt with black eyeliner and eyeshadow looking confused next to a very happy Alex. Lena asked if she could have a copy.

They had Eliza’s famous chocolate pecan pie for dessert. Lena could see why Kara called it the best in the whole world. Each piece melted in Lena’s mouth and she had to fight from drooling all over herself. She was looking forward to the holidays with the Danvers family.

It was getting late, so Lena dropped her girlfriend off at J’onn’s garage. He waved upon seeing them.

“Please be safe, darling.” Lena caressed Kara’s face. “You’ll watch each other's backs the whole time, right?”

“Of course.” Kara took a second to listen to Lena’s heartbeat. “It’ll be two days at max. We’ll be as safe as possible. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” They kissed and eventually Lena let her hands drop. “Good luck,” she called out to the two aliens before driving off.

_ [Eliza: Thank you once again for allowing me to view your project. It is quite impressive and I can’t wait to see it used in hospitals _

_ Lena: It’s still got a little bit of ways to go thanks to your input. Perhaps I should pay you for your consultations. I will be sure to send you our progress to make sure we continue heading in the right direction. _

_ Eliza: We’re family, Lena, you don’t need to pay me. I’m also genuinely intrigued by your work, so it’s no problem at all] _

Lena was redoing the wiring in her original suit when Hope alerted her to an Electro sighting.

“It appears he is at the Oscorp factory near the waterfront creating an electrical storm.”

“Got it.” Lena took her earpiece out and changed into the insulation suit. “This is the first time I’ll be out there completely alone. No Supergirl and no Hope,” she realized aloud.

The lights dimmed before flashing. “I’ll be watching you from the nearby security cameras, Boss. I’ll keep The Mags Master updated the whole time.” Lena was going to revoke Kara’s naming privileges. 

Lena approached the waterfront, and she could see the unnatural yellow contrasting against the dark night. Electro was trashing some of Oscorp’s freights and soaking up the energy from nearby generators. She attached herself to a building a bit away so she could figure out her plan.

A whirring sound caught her attention. Spider-Bro was flying towards her. Hope probably told Jess so Lena didn’t feel like she was alone. Not only was her AI watching her back, but so was her trusted friend. She felt a bit more confident.

Spider-Woman swung in close to the villain. “Electro! Fancy seeing you here. Small world, huh?”

“Let’s cut the chit-chat. I don’t have time for your atrocious sense of humor.” He flew directly at her, fists ablaze.

Lena dropped to the ground forcing him to follow. With her suit, she wouldn’t have to worry about the shocks too much, so hand-to-hand combat was her best option at the moment.

“Fine. Have a beating, free of  _ charge _ !” 

She slid under his legs and popped right up behind him. By the time he turned around, her fist was waiting for his scarred face. He stumbled back, grabbing his bloody nose, and increased his power. The power boost increased his speed so Lena took to relying on her Spider-Sense to dodge his punches.

“You are so frustrating!” He derided. He managed to land a punch to her face but she in turn grabbed the hand that hit her and flipped him over her shoulder.

“Calm down, I don’t want you blowing a  _ fuse _ !”

Electro stood up and opened his arms. Lines of electricity started to wrap around his body. “I am not here to play games.” Faster than she anticipated, he sped straight to her, grabbing her head and shocking her with everything he had.

Lena had been practicing how to absorb power, but never through her head nor that much all at once. The suit did little to protect her as she felt the electricity travel throughout her entire body. Spider-Bro started shooting mini webs at Electro. He let go to swat at the drone.

The Spider dropped to her knees and took a second to try and orientate herself. She wasn’t sure which way was up or which way was down, but she was hyper-focused on her target now. With her powers and his electricity, Lena was not going to let her prey get away this time.

“How does it feel, Spider?” He snarled as he circled her. “They tortured me for  _ days _ trying to see how much I could handle. They said it was for “science” as they burned each one of my nerves. Do you know what that’s like, Spider-Woman? To feel like your skin is being peeled off layer by layer?” The criminal looked down at her. “I suppose you’re not feeling much of anything now.”

She wobbled to her feet. “Actually, I’m feeling _ amppowered _ .” Spider-Woman’s fists were encircled in blue and yellow electricity. “And now, you’re toast.”

The two metahumans exchanged blows. They matched each other's punches and kicks, though the Wall-Crawler was gaining ground. Any shock waves he sent at her were either absorbed or ignored. She didn’t feel any pain. All she felt was the need to capture him.

Two electric whips manifested in Electro’s hands. “What’s so great about you, anyway? Why wasn’t I tasked with going after the Super?”

She attached herself to a nearby wall and scampered up to avoid the hits. “If you couldn’t capture me last time, what makes you think you could handle the Kryptonian? Your boss obviously doesn’t trust you enough.”

“Once I bring him your head, he’ll trust me.” Spider-Woman leaped off the wall and launched herself right into his body. He tried to hit her with both whips but they instead tangled together.

She used that moment of confusion to pummel him to the ground and start an onslaught of attacks. Her chest was heaving. She felt an overwhelming amount of power sizzling under her skin, making her feel hot and on edge. She needed to release it before it consumed her and burned her up from the inside out.

“I think it’s appropriate for some payback.”

She grabbed his legs and allowed the energy to leave out of her, into him. He started to spasm at the sudden amount of power. Lena’s suit was burning in her hands, the insulation dripping onto Electro’s legs. He screamed in pain and blacked out. Lena came back to her senses and quickly dropped him. She sighed in relief when she felt a strong heartbeat.

Since he was passed out, she took the opportunity to wrap him tightly in her webbing until the cops showed up. Once he was secured in a cocoon propped against the wall, she slumped against the wall tiredly. Spider-Bro approached her.

“Tell everyone it’s safe. My webbing won’t hold him for long, we’ll need the dampening cuffs,” she told the drone. She assumed Jess understood as it flew off.

“There will be more just like me,“ Electro said once he got his bearings back. “I don’t know what you did, but the Boss wants to crush you.”

Lena closed her eyes and tried to ignore the stinging of her hands and the smell of burnt flesh. “I’m assuming you won’t tell me who he is?”

“I’m not scared of you. But him? He terrifies me.”

Not long after that lovely conversation, two cop cars pulled up. “I’ve got my  _ ion _ you,” she warned as she went to meet the captain and Maggie. She smiled when he groaned at the awful pun.

“Good work, kid. You even wrapped him up nice and tight,” Maggie complimented.

“He was a piece of work, all right. I’ll cuff him up in case he tries anything funny.” The captain nodded and handed her the cuffs.

Spider-Woman took her time unwrapping her silk. She felt absolutely drained. There was almost no web-fluid in her, she had too much electricity in her for too long, and her heart rate wouldn’t settle. She knew if Hope was in the suit, the AI would pester her about her condition.

As she got the last of the webbing off, he tried to zoom away. Thankfully, Lena was expecting that and sent the remaining power she had back into him. As he was stunned, she slowly put the cuffs on him.

“Straight to  _ joule _ with you.” She half-heartedly laughed at her joke as she swayed.

“Woah, Spidey, you good?” Maggie caught her friend and noticed the suit had burned off at some parts. Lena’s hands were scarred, she should have Alex take a look at it.

“No, you’re good.” Lena’s knees buckled and she passed out.

“I’ve got Electro. You know how to help her, so I’ll trust you to do so.” The police officer nodded his head to Maggie and took the cuffed man to his cruiser.

Maggie half-dragged the vigilante to her car and stuffed her into the passenger seat. She dialed Alex.

“Hey, babe. Are you still at the DEO?”

“Hey. Yeah, but I’m finishing up. I should be home in half an hour.”

Maggie glanced at her friend. “Lena got finished fighting Electro and it looks like she needs medical attention. Can you meet us at the lair?”

“Yeah, no problem. I’ll be there as soon as possible. I’ve also got Eliza if that’s okay?”

“Lena won’t mind. Drive safe, see you then. I love you.”

There was a mumbled, “I love you too.” before the phone hung up. Maggie laughed assuming Alex was probably in the middle of talking to other agents.

Lena was slumped to the side, barely sitting up, but Maggie was still able to wrestle the seatbelt on her. She had to pull over and use her leather jacket to put in between Lena’s head and the window so the window wouldn’t break from the force. Oh, and so Lena wouldn’t suffer any more head damage, she guessed.

Maggie decided to wait in the car for her girlfriend to show up so she wouldn’t have to drag Lena down the stairs and accidentally send them both tumbling. She was strong, don’t get her wrong, but she didn’t want to risk hurting the metahuman more than she already was. And Lena was, like, 3 inches taller than Maggie and she would probably crumble under the weight of the Spider’s muscles.

Alex gently knocked on the window to pull Maggie from her game of Subway Surfers (Ruby beat her high score and she was not going to let the squirt win, okay?).

Together, they gently carried Lena’s body to the secret lair as Eliza trailed closely behind. Once they entered, the lights turned on. “She’s suffering from major 3rd-degree burns, a concussion, and dehydration,” Hope reported after doing a scan. The couple laid her on the bed.

“Mom, can you help Maggie change her and put the IV in? I’m going to scrub. Maggie knows where her blood is.”

Eliza blinked in shock but quickly got into action. She could take in the room after Lena was stable. They quickly removed the suit and everything else, settling with covering her bits with towels since the burns were all over her whole body. Maggie grabbed two bags of blue blood and set them on the table as Eliza put the IV in and hooked up the heart monitor. Everything was ready for Alex who now had a pair of gloves on.

“Doing this makes me miss being a doctor, sometimes. Since we’re all here, help me clean and debride the wound. Then, I’ll do a couple of skin grafts. Let’s get started before her healing factor kicks in.”

It took an hour and a half to complete everything. She needed a total of three grafts, though Alex couldn’t do anything for her hands. They’d see how they healed by themselves.

“I can’t believe doctors could do this for hours. Major props to them.” Maggie leaned against the wall. She hadn’t done much except for telling Alex the vitals and holding instruments (after she washed her hands and put gloves on) but she still felt tired.

Alex laughed. “I don’t know. We get hyper-focused on our work and time is non-existent. One time, I wore a diaper during a surgery so I wouldn’t have to leave the OR. Derek was driving himself crazy with this one tumor and he needed me to be his guy.”

Maggie chortled. “You go, babe! What a badass.”

Eliza smiled at her girls before remembering she had a lot of burning questions. “So, what is this place? And the talking ceiling?”

Alex gestured for Maggie to answer. “Lena doesn’t trust the DEO with her secret identity, so she was having Jess, Sam, and I help her with her injuries in her basement. She must’ve realized it wasn’t the best, so she made this as a proper medical treatment for her. Practically anything you can think of is stored away here. And, she even made Kara a sunbed. In the next room over is a room with a red sun emulator so they can train. And the talking ceiling is her AI. Say hi, Hope.”

“Greetings, Dr. Danvers. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Boss made me to help assist her with superhero duties as well as everyday tasks.”

“Lena Luthor is an impressive woman, that’s for sure.” The lights brightened at that.

“How about the two of you get out of here? I’ll spend the night watching over her,” Maggie offered.

Alex looked at her watch for the time. She hadn’t noticed it had gotten so late. “Okay. But first, why don’t you stop off at her house to pick up some clothes and snacks for when she wakes up. Once you’ve come back, we’ll go.”

“You’re smart.” Maggie pecked her cheek. “Be right back.”

By the time the detective got back, Alex and Eliza were practically nodding off in their chairs.

“Do you want me to drive you guys?”

“No, no. I’ve got enough in me to drive us. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Once they left, Maggie pulled some clothes out of the bag. “I guess it’s a testament to our friendship that I know what you look like naked. You’re lucky I love you.”

[ _ Maggie: I’m like 99% sure Lena has lost a majority of her brain cells _

_ Sam: Does this have to do with whatever happened at the waterfront??? _

_ Maggie: Yeah. Like legit she has burn marks everywhere and even her suit has melted off??? How come heroes don't have any common sense. face-palm emoji _

_ Ruby: Auntie Alex fixed her, though, right _

_ Maggie: she’ll be fine. But still. Face-palm emoji _ ]

Just as they had expected, Lena’s burns were practically non-existent in the morning. Though, for good measure, Maggie applied the special ointment on Lena’s skin. It was apparently a concoction made by Poison Ivy.

“Good morning, Maggie!”

“Shit!” She fumbled for the bottle and turned around to see Kara beaming at her. “You scared the crap out of me!”

Kara at least looked sheepish at that. “Sorry. I brought pancakes though!”

“You’re in a good mood for someone whose girlfriend is knocked out.”

“She’ll be up any minute now. Harley’s surprise party is today! I’m so glad I made it.”

“Crap, you’re right. I told Sam I’d help her finish the decorations.” Maggie took the offered take out box of pancakes. “Hopefully, she wakes up in the next hour. I have some errands to run beforehand.”

They ate as Maggie caught Kara up on what she missed the past two days. She had barely got to the Electro fight when Lena groaned. Kara sped to her side.

“My body hurts,” she grumbled.

Maggie walked over and offered her a glass of water as the alien sat her up. “You and Electro went at it pretty hard last night. Take it easy, kiddo.” The detective helped her with her drink. “You knocked right out afterward.”

“Mmm.” She laid back down and closed her eyes. A second later, they popped open. “Kara! You’re back!”

“Yep! And just in time, too. I brought pancakes.”

“I do feel kind of hungry.”

Maggie left, leaving the super couple to eat their breakfast. Lena’s hands were still shaky, so Kara fed her the cut up pieces. As they ate, Kara told Lena about her adventure on the red planet.

“I’m glad you were able to help J’onn,” Lena said sincerely. She may not have known the alien personally, but she knew he was the Danvers sisters’ father figure.

“Me too. How are you feeling? Do you want to go home and rest for a bit or do you want to stay here?”

“Take me home? I could still use a couple of hours.”

Kara cleaned up the mess and made sure to take the trash out before coming back to get Lena. She whipped off her glasses and flew them to Lena’s house.

“Let me grab my laptop so I can work in bed while you sleep, okay?” Lena nodded tiredly as she climbed into bed. Kara grabbed the spare laptop she always left at Lena’s before climbing in after her. Snapper would be annoyed with her if she got no work done while she was out sick, so she wanted to get something done.

It was almost 3 when Lena woke up again. She felt better than she had when she first woke up, but she felt staticky. She sat up and noticed Kara wasn’t in bed with her. Carefully, she slid out of bed and followed the sound of the heartbeat into the living room. The reporter was talking on the phone, a smile on her face, and her hands waving around animatedly. Her head turned to Lena and her smile grew bigger.

“Yeah, she’s awake now. Are you sure? Okay, tell Carter we say hi! Talk to you later.” Kara pocketed her phone and hovered over to Lena. “It was Cat checking in. How are you feeling?”

Lena leaned into Kara’s strong embrace. “Much better now. When’s the party? Are we late?”

“It starts in 10 minutes. I told them we weren’t sure if we were going to make it or not. I don’t want to go if you’re not feeling well. We can totally Netflix and chill instead.”

“I feel fine. Come help me pick an outfit.”

Kara had picked a tank top with a bikini top under with swim trunks, socks and sandals, and a snapback for herself. For Lena, she picked a bikini with a pair of shorts and a matching tank top. The younger woman stared at the clothes with an odd expression.

“What’s wrong? We don’t have to match if you don’t want to?” Kara asked unsurely.

Lena fiddled restlessly with her hands as she sat down. “There’s going to be people who don’t know about me being Spider-Woman. They’re going to see my scars.”

Even with a crazy fast healing rate, Lena had her fair share of marks from previous battles. A scar on her lower right abdomen from Mysterio as well as pinkish skin on her legs from the fire. A scar on her stomach above her belly button and a matching one just below her shoulder from the Vulture. And now she had lightning-shaped scars on her index fingers and the inside of her palms. Lena Luthor was supposed to be a perfect person - a woman without scars. But she was full of them, inside and out.

“Babe.” Kara sat down next to her girlfriend and took her hand. “You know I love each and every one of them. It shows your strength, what you’ve survived. They’ll probably think they’re from all the attempts on your life. If you don’t feel comfortable, I can find the cute green one piece you like so it covers some of it up?”

“Please?” Lena wasn’t even sure if she was going to attempt to get into the pool, but she would like to be as covered as possible if she did go in.

Kara kissed her before diving back into the monster of a closet.

_ [Spidey - NCWallCrawler _

_ Why did he think it was a bright idea to fight someone with similar powers? _

_ (a picture of Spider-Woman attached to a wall watching Electro) _

_ Mags - detectivesawyer _

_ Spider-Woman roasting people on Twitter when they’re in jail and can’t defend themselves _

_ (picture of Spider-Woman kicking Electro)] _

“I’m so glad you guys could make it!” Sam hugged Lena then Kara. “Are you doing okay, Lena? Need me to turn the music down or anything?”

“No, it’s fine for now. If it does get too much, I’ll let you know,” Lena promised.

Sam seemed to like that response. “There’s pizza, burgers, hot dogs, and chimichangas outside. There are also coolers with your favorite Gatorade and SunnyD for the Super. Everyone’s a bit all over the place, but Harley and Ruby I know for sure are in the pool.”

“My favorite part of being Kryptonian is that I can eat as much as I want then jump in the pool with no problems!” Kara cheered as she dragged Lena outside.

They made their rounds saying hello to everyone. Lena was still feeling a bit tired, but thankfully no one was pestering her about her health or how she was feeling.

Winn and James were shooting each other with water guns; Maggie and Jess playing a giant game of Jenga; Alex, Kara, Sam, and Ivy were playing Mario Kart inside; and Pam, Harley, Felicia, and Ruby were playing Marco Polo. Lena took to sitting in the shade watching everyone enjoy themselves as she rested.

“Hey, look who it is.” Leslie Willis swaggered over to Lena’s table. “I finally get to meet Kara’s girlfriend.”

“You must be Leslie. Kara has told me all about you.”

“All bad things, I hope?” She snickered at her own joke. “I saw a video of the big fight yesterday. Is she doing okay?”

Lena raised an eyebrow. She didn’t know Leslie actually cared. “Yeah, she’s resting up. I heard you’re a good teacher. She said your help saved her life out there.”

Livewire crossed her arms defiantly but Lena saw a light blush spread across her cheeks. “Psh, yeah, I guess so. She’s a fast learner.”

A third person walked over. “There you are. I turned around and you were gone.”

“Sorry about that. Ms. Luthor caught my eye and I wanted to introduce myself. Be polite, or whatever.”

The third person had a proud smile. “That’s my girl. It’s nice to meet you in person, Ms. Luthor. My name is Vasquez. I see you around the DEO sometimes.”

“Nice to meet you, too. How does a DEO agent manage to date a wanted criminal?”

Leslie clenched her jaw in annoyance. “I won them over with my obviously amazing charm. Anyway, tell your spider friend she did good with the fight. I want to kick Kara’s ass at Mario Kart.”

“Will do.” The couple walked off and before Lena could take a moment to herself, a soaking wet Harley plopped down beside her.

“Hiya, Spidey. Did you know they were gonna throw me a surprise party?”

“I did. I can see you’re enjoying yourself.”

“I really am.” Harley’s expression sobered. “I want to say thank you, Lena. I didn’t think we was ever gonna leave Arkham, much less Gotham. But you swooped in like an angel and rescued us. I’m getting to do the job I love again, I’ve made some awesome friends, I have two beautiful hyenas, and I have Pammy. I’m not a good person, and I don’t think I deserve a second chance, but really, thank you for all of this. You went above and beyond.”

Lena laced her fingers with the clown’s. “You’ve helped me out, too, you know. I wouldn’t trust just anyone to be my shrink. And you’re different than you were before, Harley. I think you do deserve this second chance.”

Harley broke into tears. Lena wrapped her arms around the blonde and held her as she cried. “You’re the best. How could I ever make it up to you?”

Lena thought about it for a second. She waited for the crying to subside some first. “You want to know how you could make it up to me?” Harley nodded rapidly. It was now or never. “You and Pam really should have a conversation about your guys’ feelings for Felicia.” Lena was surprised by how red Harley’s face got.

“Uh...Gee…” She pulled back, a mortified expression on her face. “That obvious?”

“Just a bit. But don’t worry, Kara and I were way worse.”

That seemed to reassure Harley some. “Okay. After today, though. I really want to get wasted tonight. Do you think you’ll be getting in the pool today?”

“When Kara gives up at trying to win Mario Kart.” The reporter always picked Koopa Troopa even though he had the worst stats. She insisted it didn’t matter but continued to lose using him. She’d come out soon enough.

It took Leslie beating her twice in a row for Kara to finally come out. She scanned the outside and smiled when she spotted her girlfriend. “You’re like a vampire, hiding in the shade.”

“I don’t want to burn up. Are you finally going to go in the pool?” Lena opened her bag and took out a bottle of sunscreen.

“Yeah. Do you want to go in? I’ll be right by your side the whole time.”

“I want to try.” Kara nodded and took the bottle to put the sunblock on her girlfriend.

Kara held Lena’s hand and got into the pool first. She helped Lena down the stairs and stopped on the last one. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m good. Let’s go in a little deeper.”

The alien hesitated. Lena’s face was full of determination. They waded in until they were waist-deep.

“Hey, Lena! You’re doing awesome,” Ruby cheered.

She ended up staying in the pool for half an hour, but Harley said that was great progress and definitely a good start. She sat on the ledge and watched as Kara, James, Winn, and Ruby started playing chicken. Ruby was on Kara’s shoulders, Winn on James’. Kara was using her freeze breath to keep James off balance. Ruby reached over and pushed Winn over, laughing victoriously as he tumbled in the water. She and Kara high-fived. Lena couldn’t wait until they had children of their own.

Despite her tiredness, Lena was still able to enjoy herself. Winn was a happy drunk. He made everyone laugh with his jokes and he had almost no filter. She shared a drink with James, enjoying the friendly attitude they now had for each other. She showed off her chess skills for a bit and played a round of Mario Party. She didn’t exactly understand the game or the concept, but she liked it when everyone cheered her on even when she was losing.

Felicia had baked a rainbow cake. Harley was extremely happy about it that she placed a sloppy kiss on her cheek then blushed when Lena sent her a knowing look. Ruby made Lena try a root beer float and she wasn’t sure how she was going to like the ice cream soda combination, but it was better than she thought.

As the night wore on and the adults got hammered, Lena decided to call it a night. Kara was the designated driver for Alex and Maggie so she stayed behind. The vigilante said goodnight and headed to her car to go home and enjoy a long night of sleep.

-

Norman Osborn’s smile caused the nearby scientists to shiver. They knew their boss was a little unhinged, but he looked downright evil as he grinned like a maniac over the unconscious body.

“Time of day, 19:31. Test subject number 3. Name, Mac Gargan. Trial 1. Let’s begin.”

A scientist injected the green liquid into the man’s arm. The man started to convulse on the table, the heart monitor beeping quickly with the elevated pulse. The passed two subjects never survived the initial injection, so they waited to see if this was a pass or fail. A minute later, the body calmed and the heart rate returned to normal.

Norman’s eyes gleamed. Oh, this was going to be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is my best chapter to date. Okay, I hated the fight scenes and slacked at the end with the party, but otherwise, I felt like it was okay? I hope everyone is staying safe x
> 
> [my tumblr](https://timelords-angel-is-sherlocked.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/dr_halfblood) and [my kofi](https://ko-fi.com/mliam01)
> 
> I have a couple of Spotify playlists if you want to check them out, but [this one](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3u4wox2zAJV1uhqZ5TaQ3q?si=315thuuNQMioIGswNf2DqA) is the one for the story that I keep adding songs to occasionally.
> 
> how has your day been? favorite part of the chapter?


	24. NOT the Edge of glory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan Edge's lead poisoning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, huge thank you to [my beta reader](https://confusinggemini612.tumblr.com/) for helping me with this chapter. I guess I'm pretty chilling with this. Stay tuned for the end notes!
> 
> I also kind of tried a different writing style, so yeah. Can you notice? Is this better? I take criticism!

Look at this amazing fanart [gone-for-mcgrath](https://gone-for-mcgrath.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr made! I love seeing different interruptions of Spider!Lena so don't be shy to show me anything you've come up with! And since I'm here, just very quickly, thank you for all the love and support! We're nearing 700 kudos and it just blows my mind!Anyway, enjoy the chapter

-

Osborn grinned at the report. Things were going well with the test subject. It had so far survived all three trials and there have been some… changes.

He intended for this trial to help propel his studies on his cross genetics project, but he decided this little experiment would have to stay off the books. The subject may not be suitable for Oscorp, but it has thus far proven its resilience. If it continued to mutate, Osborn could use the man as a weapon to fight against Spider-Woman. Stupid, pesky arachnid. If he could just get a small sample of her blood…

“Father?” Harry walked into the office. “I have the files you’ve asked for,” Norman grunted in response and held his hand out for the papers. He placed them down and waited for his son to leave.

“Is there anything else, Harry?”

The man bit the inside of his cheek and pocketed his hands. “I noticed that my privileges in the basement labs and your private lab have been revoked. I was wondering if that was a mistake at all?”

“It’s not. You said you weren’t interested in my work. It’s top-secret and I don’t want you trying to sabotage anything. You and Lena can use L-Corp’s labs for your project.”

Norman didn’t even bother glancing up. He knew the boy would have a kicked puppy look. Harry idled for another minute before stomping out.

“What a child,” the CEO muttered to himself.

He gathered the necessary materials and headed out of the office and down the hall to his personal lab. Once there, he scanned his eye and palm on the hidden panel. The secret door opened revealing his latest project.

Lex was a smart man, there was no doubt about it. Though, he was too arrogant. Not that Norman would ever say that to his face, but it was the truth. He might not like Lena Luthor, but she at least knew how to be subtle.

He booted up the computer and typed in the code for his latest project. Supergirl needed to be taken down, but that would prove nearly impossible with Spider-Woman around. She has proven herself to be nearly as indestructible as the alien and since there wasn’t any research on her, there were no obvious weaknesses. So, naturally, she was the one that had to be defeated first.

Norman walked up to the old Lex-o suit he… found. He already had schematics on how to alter and improve the suit - with his own touches of course. He didn’t want Lex to get the credit when Norman kills both heroes.

There were different types of bombs he was currently working on that’d function as his secondary weapon. For his primary weapon, he was thinking of a gun of some sort or maybe even something similar to Batman’s Batarangs. He also would have to come up with his own blueprints for a hoverboard. He had hired Psi to steal Lena’s, but that had failed spectacularly.

It’s as everyone says… If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

_[Lena: Hey, Winn. I'm finally available this Saturday if you are to work on Supergirl's suit. Once we're done, Spider-Woman said she'd be happy to work on her AI with you while I go to L-Corp to finish some work_

_Winn: Really???? Yes, yes, yes!!_

_Should I bring snacks?? What do you like? What does she like??? I wonder what your lab looks like. I'm so excited!!!!!!_

_Lena: You can bring snacks if you want to. Bring anything your heart desires as long as there is no cinnamon or peppermint in it, please._

_Winn: No problem! I can't wait! We're going to bond so hard, Lena. We're officially going to be the science duo :D]_

Lena looked over her lab one last time. It had been a mess for quite a while now and she wanted to make sure it looked presentable when Winn came over. 

There was one last spider web right above the door from a web grenade that malfunctioned. She easily walked up the wall and cleaned it off. “Boss, Winn is approaching the house. Make sure to put shoes on and follow proper lab safety rules.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lena headed downstairs and slid across the floor to the front door. Just as she put a pair of shoes on, the doorbell rang. She waited a couple of seconds before opening the door. “Hello, Winn. Did you find your way okay?”

“I did, actually!” The man had an armful of different chip bags, cookies, and candies. “No peppermint or cinnamon, as promised.”

She took some snacks from him to lighten his load. “I see you’re prepared for a long day in the lab.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m so psyched to be working on a project with you! Also, it only seems fitting that the original creator of Supergirl’s suit and the new one work together to make the ultimate suit. Hey, I’ve got to say that I’m super impressed by your nanotechnology. It’s flawless and it feels so smooth! How’d you get Kara’s suit to feel soft?”

Lena knew she was in for a stimulating and productive day in the lab.

Winn and Lena had easy conversations while writing out equations for Kryptonite. They compared notes on how they approached the formula and why they chose what numbers to use. Between them was a fist-sized rock of Kryptonite and a bag of Ruffles.

“You know how we had a Star Wars marathon recently? I was thinking of making a robot-like C3P0. It would be programmed with human and alien languages. It’d be stationed in my hospital and FEAST, too. I know public knowledge of aliens is still relatively new to Earth, and I want to help them assimilate easier.”

Winn smiled a toothy grin, his eyes shining mischievously. “See what you were missing out on! I’m so glad I had the honor to educate you on such matters. How are you planning on learning different languages? The only alien language I know is Kryptonese.”

“My employees for one. I could ask around at the alien bar, too. Does the DEO have a database of languages?”

“I haven’t looked into it, but I’m sure we do. Alex probably knows about it.” His eyes widened and snapped to Lena. “Her birthday is coming up and I don’t know what to get her,” he groaned. Lena didn’t even know Alex’s birthday was soon.

“You think I could get away with an expensive bottle of wine and a gift card?”

“Probably.” He tapped on the calculator. “I’ve been wanting to give her an upgrade to her uniform, but I can’t find the right materials.”

“What is it that you want to do?”

Winn slumped onto the stool. “I want to put magnets in her gloves so she can call her gun to her whenever she needs it. Unfortunately, since it’s an alien gun, I’m having trouble making it compatible.”

“I will see what I can do.”

They came up with a balanced equation and tested it on the Kryptonite. It glowed a bright green, the exact opposite reaction of what they were hoping for.

It ended up taking a couple of hours to come up with something that diminished the glow the space rock gave off. Throughout that time, the two gossiped about CatCo news and the latest scientific discoveries being made. It was surprisingly easy to converse with Winn. His intellect matched hers no problem and he had a very nerdy sense of humor which was something she shared.

“We did it!” Winn shouted when the green rock grayed. “Holy smokes, we actually did it!” He raised both hands high in the air. Lena indulged him with the double high-five.

“Now that we’ve accomplished that, we now have to transfer it into the individual nanobots.”

The man’s face fell a little at that but lit up right away. “Nanobots! While we do this, you’ve got to teach me how to use them. I’ve been dying to build some stuff for myself with it, but I’ve never gotten around to it.”

Lena grabbed a container full of them (being sure to look a little bothered by the weight) and placed it on an empty table. “Of course. Though, only if I can have the rest of the Chips Ahoy.”

“Deal!”

As Lena explained how she built them and how she uses them, Winn listened with rapt attention. He even pulled out a tiny notebook to take notes. She was once again jealous that the DEO hired him before she could. On the other hand, he was making inventions to substitute the uses of machine guns, so at least his genius was being used for good.

At 4, Lena’s stomach rumbled. They decided on sushi, since it was the food they ate the first time they hung out, and ate as they worked. Winn accidentally ate a nanobot and started to choke on it, wailing around in panic. Lena managed to calm him down some so she could go behind him and do the heimlich maneuver. He spit it out with tears in his eyes. Lena said he could keep it as a gift.

They decided to stop trying to multitask as they ate.

Hours ticked by without them noticing. When they were nearing the end, Winn allowed Lena to put the finishing piece.

“And that, Ms. Luthor, is a suit that is now completely impervious to Kryptonite.”

“That it is, Mr. Schott.” Lena’s fingers were aching from use, but she was extremely proud of their hard work. “Those were the most intense eight hours I’ve had in the longest time.”

“Ditto. Now, you have to go to L-Corp and work in another lab and I’ll be here working with Spider-Woman. A scientist's job is never over.”

She had half a mind to ask for him to come back tomorrow, but she was eager to work on Hope with him. “That’s right. Let’s clean up then I’ll be on my way. She should be here soon.”

Lena got in her car and drove the five minutes to Pam and Harley’s house to leave her car there. After all, it’d be suspicious if it was in the driveway when she was supposed to be at work. She opened the side gate to the house and activated the Iron Spider.

Spider-Woman knocked on the window and smirked when Winn jumped. He was expecting her to come in through the door.

“Spider-Woman!” He opened the window and shook her hand once she entered. “It’s an honor to be working with you!”

“To you as well, Winn. I am very excited to work with you on this project. Both Lena and Supergirl talk about how incredible you are with technology, so I can’t wait to see what you have to offer.”

His face reddened at the praise. “Oh, psh, it’s not that big of a deal. Also, I am over the moon to be working on an artificial intelligence! I’ve never had too much interest in them, but I am curious as to what the purpose of yours is and how you use it.”

Spider-Woman booted up the computer that had Hope’s main file on it. “Lena created Hope to be an assistant of sorts. She helps me during battles by giving me tips, erasing video footage that shows me changing, puts security footage on loops so I can sneak around, let me know how much web fluid I have in my web-shooters, and she tells me when there’s a crime, for example. I can also take phone calls through her. Lena has Hope installed in her house, office, and her phone as well. We love her to death.”

The lights brightened. “I may not be capable of emotions, but I am very fond of you both as well.”

“Woah, that is so cool!” Winn paced around the room. “She has control over the lights and uses it as a means to convey different emotions? That is brilliant! Oh man, I cannot wait to see how she works and add some of my touches.”

“Lena did tell you what it is she wanted to add, right?” Spider-Woman started to open the programs. “She didn’t tell me what we were going to be working on.”

“Yup. She wanted to program the AI to learn Kryptonese, but I thought, why stop there? I went through the DEO database and got all the information we had about Krypton on there. Kara has an AI type thing, it’s a hologram of her mother, and I downloaded the information I could get from it onto here.” He placed down two flash drives. “Then, I asked Kara if she could download what the Fortress had. So, Hope will be the most knowledgeable person, er thing, on the planet to know about Kara’s home planet, well, besides Kara herself, obviously. Hope will know more than Superman himself.”

“Impressive indeed,” the Wall-Crawler observed. “You know Kryptonese yourself, right?”

“I can read and write it way better than I can speak it, but yes, I do.”

“Kara has been trying to teach me, but I’ll admit I’m having trouble with it. I was wondering if while we did this, you can help me with some phrases?”

“Only if you allow me to have an up-close look at the suit! If it isn’t too weird, of course.”

“Sounds like a deal.”

Winn wanted to familiarize himself with Hope’s code before working on it. As he did that, he asked multiple questions about her fights and her statistics, giving his opinion on which fights were his favorites.

“All I’m saying is, the way you kicked Vulture’s ass and still saved him from the fire despite your injuries? That’s just-” he imitated a chef’s kiss- “you know? Though, your recent fight with Electro was pretty badass as well. It was like a light show! I am surprised that you were able to create that much energy and not overheat yourself.”

The Spider rubbed the back of her neck. “I sort of passed out right after that fight. I’m Alex’s number one patient.”

Winn snorted. He then stopped reading and slowly turned to her. “Do you have a secret hideout?!”

“Yeah.” She didn’t see the harm in divulging that information to him. “We call it the Terrarium because, you know, I’m a spider. Maggie thought it was funny and it sort of stuck.”

They continued their small talk until he felt satisfied he had a good grip on what to do. “Does she have a sleep mode you can put her on? This is going to be a major load, I don’t recommend her being on while it’s happening.”

“Of course.” Lena stroked the wall idly. “I’m going to put you in hibernation mode, baby. It shouldn’t be for more than five days.”

The lights dimmed. “Be safe, Boss.”

“Aren’t I always?” Half the room’s lights turned off, the on part flickered. That was Hope’s way of rolling her eyes. “Alright baby girl, I’ll see you soon.” Lena activated the hibernation mode and the soft buzzing in the suit became quiet. “Okay, Winn, let’s get started.”

Winn did most of the work while Lena peered over his shoulder. He was typing in code as if it was his first language. Not even Lena could write that fluently in the computer language.

As he did that, the metahuman worked on her laptop to fix the EMP in the suit. Without Hope, it would need a little bit of adjusting so she could activate it whenever she needed it. If she needed to sneak around or change in public, she couldn't rely on her AI to loop the cameras, so she’d put them out of commission for a couple of minutes.

At 10 p.m., they were done. All the snacks were gone and they had ordered some food from Big Belly Burger. Winn was tired but satisfied with his work.

“Thanks again for letting me have a look at your suit and working on your AI.”

“It’s not a problem, Winn. Keep up the good work on the fan page, buddy.” She started to walk him to the door. “Should I be concerned about how you get such up-close shots of me?”

He ducked his head in embarrassment. “No. The DEO has cameras set up everywhere and in my free time, I may go through them to get some videos of you doing flips and stuff. Though, I’ve never tried to find out your secret identity if you’re worried about that! I totally respect your privacy. I mean, I know how dangerous it is to know, you know?”

The Spider nodded and clapped his shoulder.

“I appreciate that more than you know. Well, Lena’s on her way home so I’m going to cook some dinner. Unlike Kara, I’m an amazing chef.”

“Kara’s gotten better thanks to Lena’s cooking lessons. I don’t have to go to the bathroom right away anymore,” he laughed. “Was that TMI? It might have been. Sorry. Have a goodnight, Spidey!” They shared a fist-bump before he trotted off to his car.

Lena watched him drive away with an amused smile. She was feeling hungry again and she didn’t feel like going back to get her car. Eh, she’d get it tomorrow.

-

“Hey, love, I didn’t expect you to drop by today.” Lena turned around and closed the fridge with her foot as she leaned over to give Kara a kiss. “I was about to make lunch. Are you staying or dropping by?”

“I’m dropping by, but I will never say no to food. You can teach me a new recipe!”

Lena quirked an eyebrow. “Ok, Chef Danvers, get the pan ready. I’m going to teach you how to make shepherd's pie.”

As usual, cooking with Kara was a rollercoaster. The alien insisted that she could cut the potatoes with her laser vision. Lena finally gave in and let Kara try. The first two potatoes were fine, but then the cutting board was cut in half as well. Then, she dropped the different leaves together and it took Lena’s keen sense of smell to differentiate which were which.

Despite the hiccup, they worked together well enough to efficiently make the food. Kara was catching Lena up on work and the city’s latest gossip. In turn, Lena told her all about Winn’s visit and their bonding time.

“See? I knew you two would get along! Wait, so my new suit is ready?”

“All I have to do is add the cape. We also managed to fit it inside a pair of glasses this time.”

“You two are amazing.” Kara took Lena’s hand and started to dance them around the kitchen. “With Hope not around, I get you all to myself,” she joked.

Lena giggled and leaned into the taller woman. “You’re silly. While this bakes, want me to finish the suit?”

“Heck yeah! I want to learn so maybe one day in the future _I_ could make _you_ a suit.”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that.” She linked their fingers together and started to head to the lab. “We are not having matching suits, though.”

“Why not! We are literally the power couple of the century.”

“No amount of pouting will change my mind, darling.”

Kara stopped pouting.

Lena explained how the nanobots worked and how she put them together as she transferred the cape. Kara listened attentively and even helped with the process. Once they were done with that, Lena described how she made suits from the outlines to what their functions would be. Each suit brought a different element, so the design of it would depend on the purpose. Kara asked if she could make a punk rock one, complete with a guitar and everything. Lena rolled her eyes and walked out of the lab.

Lunch came out decent. The flavors were imbalanced and it was a little dry, but it was their first time making it together so Lena loved it all the same. They were about to watch Netflix and cuddle when Kara’s phone rang.

“There’s a bank robbery in progress. They’ve got hostages, I gotta go.” Kara whipped off her glasses and was about to fly off when Lena caught her arm.

“Wait, let me go with you.” Supergirl bit her lip but nodded in agreement.

Lena grabbed the golden spider from atop the fridge and slapped it against her chest. The cool nanotechnology spread throughout her body and she was soon enveloped in the suit. She then jumped onto Supergirl’s back and they zoomed out of the house.

They landed on the roof of the bank. Supergirl was using her x-ray vision to get a better handle on the situation while Spider-Woman looked for possible entryways.“There’s one guy in the vault, three in the lobby with the hostages, and a getaway car outback. How do you want to go about this?” Supergirl whispered.

“I’ll go in first to deal with the guy in the vault. Once I’ve got him, I’ll take out the two goons in the back. Then, you swoop in and get the main one. Together, we’ll get the driver.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll be watching you.”

Lena climbed to the side of the building and opened the vent. She climbed inside and followed the noise of cash being forced into a bag. The actual vault didn’t have an entrance through the roof, so she slipped into the hallway. The door was open and right in the middle of the room was a man filling a bag with a hundred dollar bills. Not wanting to alert him to her presence, she climbed up the wall, onto the ceiling, and lined herself over him. She then dropped onto his shoulders. He fell under the unexpected weight.

“What the-”

“Shh.” Lena rolled off of the man and extended her wrist, shooting a web over his mouth. “Don’t you know that stealing is wrong?” His eyebrows furrowed in anger.

He ran towards her to attack but Lena side-stepped and watched him stumble into the wall. She webbed him to the wall like that, with his face pressed against it and his arms at an awkward angle.

“You’re on time out. Now, I’m going to go deal with your friends.”

Spider-Woman went back into the vent and followed it to the room where the different heartbeats were coming from. She quietly opened the grate and surveyed the room.

All the hostages were grouped in the middle of the room. One goon was to the left of them and the other to the right. The leader was standing in front with a walkie talkie, presumably talking to the police about their demands. Oh, and all of them were armed with assault rifles.

The Web-Head exited the vent and stayed glued to the ceiling. She needed to separate the men from the hostages. She looked around the room and noticed a trash can towards the left back corner. Taking a risk, she shot a web at it. The trash can wobbled a little, but it was enough to catch the attention of the left guard. Lena followed him on the ceiling and waited until he was far enough from the group to shoot a well-placed web at his mouth to stop him from screaming and another to drag him into the air with her. She plastered him against the ceiling.

Moving on, Lena crawled towards the goon on the right. Since the main one was still occupied, she decided to repeat the process of what she did to his partner. The hostages looked up and smiled in joy. Not a second later, Supergirl flew in and handcuffed the leader.

“Did you really have to web them to the ceiling?”

“If you’re going to try and rob a bank, you’re going to pay the price!” Lena defended. “Let’s get the getaway driver before they escape.”

Supergirl and Spider-Woman busted outside. The woman in the unmarked van startled and fumbled with the keys. Kara ripped open the door, grabbed the woman by the collar, and allowed the Spider to web her to the van.

“We did all of that without any casualties or property damage! We make a great team.” Lena held up her hand.

“That we do.” Kara high-fived her. “Now, let’s go talk to the press together.” As they walked through the bank, the Super looked up at the criminals stuck to the ceiling. “I know it’s not the first time you’ve stuck someone in a high, awkward place. How do they get down?”

“Honestly?” Lena glanced up herself and thought about it for a second. “No clue.” The doors opened and the flashing cameras took their attention.

[should I put something here or just a dash?]

“Is that so, Mr. Olsen?” Lena teased as they walked through the bullpen.

James chuckled and shrugged. “I mean, you managed to get out of the friend zone. I thought you’d have some tips.”

“I don’t know Winn well enough for specifics, but it’s a leap of faith, James. You’ve got to plan in your mind exactly when you want to do it. The when and the where. Then, you need to tell someone your plan beforehand so you don’t back out of it.”

They arrived in his office. James started to talk some more, but Lena didn’t listen. The bullpen was whispering her name and throwing her looks. Lena looked to the T.V’s on the wall and unmuted the one with Morgan Edge on it.

“What is that scumbag doing in my hospital?”

“It was a nightmare and we’d give anything for it to end, am I right? Then, the Daxamites, the ships just up and left. You know why they left? It was a lead-dispersal bomb that drove ‘em away. I have a colleague whose son was sick. Brought him here. There were other children in this hospital with the same symptoms. The doctors told me that there were other children still in other hospitals all displaying the same symptoms. Lead poisoning. You know, it’s fitting that we’re here in this hospital. Lena Luthor built the bomb that poisoned these boys and girls.” Edge looked right into the camera and smirked. Lena’s blood boiled.

“I’ve got to get down there,” she growled. How _dare_ he accuse her of such acts? He’s been silent this whole time for this publicity stunt?

Kara rushed into the office and went straight to Lena. “Lena, hey, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m going to confront that cretin, ask what in the hell he’s thinking.”

James looked between both women. “Lena, I’m not sure that’s a smart move. He’s going to use that against you, try and rile you up.”

“James is right,” Kara agreed. “Edge wants you to go confront him, who knows what he has planned.”

“I appreciate the concern, but that is my hospital and he’s dragging my name there. I will not look like a coward, I have to do some type of damage control.”

Kara bit her lip. Lena was right, of course. “Okay. Let me tag along, please? Just in case.”

“Okay.” The CEO took a deep breath and counted to ten. It was her grounding technique. She didn’t even realize she did it until Harley pointed it out to her. “James, as of right now, I am stepping down from CatCo. Whether what he said was true or not, it’s out there. People still don’t trust me, and they’ll see this as an excuse to hate me all over again. You’re in charge. It may be Monday, but I trust you can get everything ready for print for Friday.”

“Of course. I’ll take care of everything. And, Lena? You get that bastard.” She gave him a quick smile.

As she walked out of the office, she kept her head held high. She focused on Kara’s strong heartbeat next to her instead of the voices talking about her.

“Do you want me to fly us there or would you rather drive?”

Lena clenched and unclenched her fist as she thought about it. “I’ll drive. I need a second to cool down and no doubt there will be reporters swarming the hospital soon. I don’t want to risk anyone seeing you change.”

Kara took one of Lena’s fist and brought it up to her mouth, softly kissing the knuckles. “Okay, we’re going to get to the bottom of this & I’ll be right by your side the whole time.”

The elevator stopped and the couple took a step apart to keep an air of professionalism. Lena stepped out and headed to the garage, Kara right behind.

The metahuman was on edge the whole drive there. Her hair was starting to frizz and sparks shot out of her fingers. She did her best to keep her temper in check, but truth be told, she was pissed off. She was finally in the city’s good graces and he had to tear it all down.

She parked underground and the couple took the elevator to the floor Edge was on. Kara x-rayed the whole hospital and saw no reporters inside, thankfully. The staff must’ve kicked them out.

As they were walking, Lena heard a familiar heartbeat. She stopped and looked around until she noticed Sam sitting outside of a room. She locked her pinky with Kara’s and walked them over to the CFO.

Sam looked up and gave them a tired smile. “Hey. Luke, one of Ruby’s friends, collapsed this morning from lead poisoning. I came with the paramedics since I called 911 and I didn’t want him to be alone. His mom just got here but she ran to the cafeteria to get something to eat real quick. I saw Edge’s stunt too. This whole thing is awful.”

“You don’t say.” Lena heard his grating voice nearby. He was down the hall. “Speak of the devil…” She threw her shoulders back and marched over to him. “Where the hell do you get off?”

Morgan Edge didn’t even bother to glance at her as he finished signing some paperwork. He handed it to the young man and looked at Lena. “That was me paying the end of the medical expenses at your hospital.”

“So, this is what your revenge looks like?”

In place of answering, he asked: “Have you ever heard of the cobra effect, Lena?”

“Yes.” She saw what he was trying to get at. “You’re a toxic predator.”

“Unintended consequences. You wanted to be a hero so bad, you didn’t care about who you hurt. Now people are gonna die.”

The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Even her spider instinct knew he was bad news.

Kara stepped forward to draw some of the man’s attention off Lena. “Even if all of this were true, Supergirl would be just as much to blame. She made the call to use that device,” she defended.

Edge shrugged. “Supergirl may have pushed the button, sure, but that tech was all Luthor.”

So it was personal. “You’re a bottom-feeder.

“But I didn’t poison children. That was you.”

Her Spider-Sense flared, sending her the tell-tale signals of when someone was lying. She didn’t have any proof and she still felt at fault, so she couldn’t do anything. Lena clenched her jaw and turned abruptly on her heel. She grabbed her phone and dialed Eve’s number.

“Ms. Luthor! Is there anything I can get for you?” Eve’s cheerful voice asked.

“I’m assuming you’re aware of what’s going on?” There was a hum of agreement. “Call the CDC and get every report they have on the outbreak. I also need the victims’ medical reports and I wanna see every bit of data Morgan Edge has seen.”

“Right away. Anything else?”

“Schedule a press conference for an hour from now, I need to get ahead of this.” She paused then added; “I will also be stepping down from L-Corp momentarily, so Sam will be in charge of the company for now.”

“Wait, what?” Sam exclaimed. Lena kept walking.

“Okay. Also, I’m so sorry about what’s happening. I’ll be sure to keep things running smoothly for when you return.”

“Thank you, Eve.” She hung up and stepped into the elevator. Sam and Kara shuffled inside before it closed.

The alien turned to her girlfriend. “Why are you stepping down from L-Corp? CatCo I can understand, but your own company? There could be hundreds of other reasons why these kids are getting sick besides your device.”

“He’s ruthless, Lena. You know that,” Sam added. “He’s out to get you. He doesn’t have proof it was you”

“Look, what if it’s true, okay? There wasn’t a lot of time and there was a margin of error of 4%, it could have been the device. Also,” she turned to look at Kara, “I told you that the lead in the device was safe for humans. You wouldn’t have used it if it wasn’t safe.”

The elevator doors opened on the basement level. Lena headed out and towards her car.

“As you said, there wasn’t a lot of time. I know you and Winn did your best under the circumstances.” Kara stood between Lena and the car with her arms crossed. “That doesn’t explain why you’re stepping down from L-Corp, though.”

“Yeah. We can’t come up with a solution without you! I don’t even know how to run a Fortune 500 company, you know I didn’t take any business classes.”

The CEO looked at her two best friends. They were really stubborn. “I have a competent team of scientists at L-Corp, they can come up with a solution quickly enough. Jess and Peter are probably brainstorming ideas as we’re talking. Speaking of Jess…” Lena started to dial the woman’s number. “I don’t want people to think I’m profiting off of this. Removing myself from the equation makes it as unbiased as possible.”

Sam and Kara exchanged looks. They couldn’t argue with that.

“Hey, Lena. I’m actually helping Ivy today, but Peter said he’d forward me the notes on what’s happening. I can assure you we won’t rest until we find an antidote.”

Lena smiled at Jess’s devotion. “Thank you, Jess. That’s not actually why I’m calling. Hope is out of commission right now since she’s being upgraded, so I’m hoping you could put the suit on and attend my press conference?”

“Of course. Let me know when and I’ll be there.”

-

Kara, Sam, Lena, and Jess as Spider-Woman were huddled together at the side of the stage. The crowd was chanting “lock her up” and there were a good amount of people holding signs. They worked fast.

“Where do you want me, Boss? Towards the back? On stage with you? On a rooftop?”

Lena looked at Kara to answer. “Rooftop is the best vantage point. You can see the whole crowd and can swing in at any angle,” Kara answered.

The Mark II gave a thumbs up before turning and webbing to the roof of a nearby building. Jess perched on the edge and scanned the crowd.

“I’ll be right up-front. You’ve got this, Lena.” Kara squeezed Lena’s hand and headed into the crowd.

“And I’ll be right here. Ignore everyone. Just say what you have to say, then leave. We can get ice cream afterward.” Sam put a reassuring hand on her boss’s shoulder.

“I’m not a child,” she chided.

“You’re right. We can go to your place and get drunk.” They laughed. “Looks like they’re ready for you. Good luck.”

Lena took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart. She raised her chin and made sure to settle a neutral mask in place. She’s got this. She stepped onto the stage.

“Good afternoon, everyone. I know a lot of you here are angry, I hear you. I would be, myself, if I felt someone had poisoned my children. So, my thoughts go out to everyone who is afflicted.” The crowd was still restless and calling for her head. “I heard what Morgan Edge told you this morning and I wish I was up here to say something different, but… the truth is, I don’t know if my device hurt children.”

She heard a faint sound as if a gun was cocking. She locked eyes with Kara who nodded. She subtly started to look around.

“And until I do, I realize that none of you can have faith in me. Your faith is something I have worked harder than you may realize to keep, and the fact that I might have lost it breaks my heart. So, until the investigation into the poisonings is concluded, I shall be stepping down from CatCo and L-Corp. I know-”

Kara caught the first bullet that was meant for Lena but more were making their way to the stage. The gunner had horrible aim and a stray bullet was going to hit Sam. Using her Spider-Sense, Lena dodged what was meant for her and tackled Sam to the side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jess holding someone to the ground.

“Sam, are you okay? Did you get hit?”

The CFO groaned. Lena may have put a little too much strength in her legs as she leaped to reach Sam. “I wasn’t hit by a bullet if that’s what you’re asking. Might have a few scrapes, though.” She laughed until she noticed a blue trail of blood leaking through the hole in Lena’s abdomen. “Shit, Lena, you were hit!” Sam tore off her suit jacket to cover the wound. She hoped no one saw the blood. “Lena’s been shot!”

Lena rolled her eyes but she supposed she had to act like she was in pain. “I’ve been shot!” she called out. Hopefully, it didn’t sound too sarcastic.

“Lena Luthor has been shot!” Someone announced. The leftover people stopped and stared. Sam pushed her jacket into the wound further as pictures were being snapped. Lena did her best to look shocked and in pain. Honestly, she should’ve gone into acting.

Supergirl swooped down. She was angry, though at who or at what wasn’t clear. The blonde picked Lena up, making sure not to let the suit jacket slip, and flew off to the Terrarium.

Kara x-rayed the lab and found a couple of people on the upper floors. She made sure to land on the backside of the building so no one would spot her.

“What happened?” Pamela Isley walked to the couple with a concerned expression.

“Lena’s been shot. We need to remove the bullet before her body starts to break it down.”

“I can do it myself. I’m fine, you know. I’ve been through way worse than a bullet through my stomach.”

Ivy followed them down the stairs regardless. She may not have been that type of doctor, but she could take care of bullet wounds no problem. She had a lot of practice with Harley, after all.

Supergirl placed Lena on the slab. When she pulled back Sam’s suit jacket, it was soaked in the metahuman’s blood. “Why did you jump in front of the bullet like that?” she demanded.

Lena scoffed as she sat up to remove her shirt. “Would you have rathered Sam get hit?”

“Of course not!”

Poison Ivy washed her hands and looked for the needed materials as she tried to block out the couple’s squabble.

“Well, that answers your question, doesn’t it? I dodged the other ones that were coming for me. It would’ve been suspicious if I didn’t at least get hit once. At least I did it saving Sam from injury.”

Kara crossed her arms and looked down at Lena. “She had a terrible aim, it wouldn’t have been suspicious at all. You could’ve avoided getting hit. Unless…”

“Unless what, Kara?”

Ivy had heard enough. “Supergirl, why don’t you go see what happened with the shooter. Lena, lay down so I can take care of this. You’re still prone to infection.” They were still staring each other down. “ _Now_.”

The CEO scowled but laid down obediently while the alien supersped out. Ivy worked silently and meticulously. Lena was a much quieter patient than Harley and she didn’t squirm around. The brunette laid completely still and didn’t even flinch when Ivy started doing the stitches.

“I want you to stay here while you cool off. I’ve got to get back to my work, but I’ll give Felicia a call to come to keep you company.” She rolled off her gloves and threw them away. “Is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine,” Lena rolled her head to the side so she could make eye-contact with her friend. “Thank you, Pam. And Jess will be back soon, sorry for stealing her away.”

Ivy nodded once and headed back to her lab.

Lena inspected the bullet that was left on the tray. It was small and covered in blood. That parent wanted vengeance for her child, presumingly. Not that Lena blamed her. She was used to assassination attempts, but never one by a grieving parent. It somehow hit harder, that way. A wave of guilt started to overcome her.

The Spider stood up. She could clean and sterilize the medical utensils. That ought to keep her mind off things.

It only worked for five minutes.

She wasn’t sure how long it’d take Felicia to arrive, so she took her phone out to at least see what the news was saying. Though, just as she pulled it out, it started to ring.

She took a second to collect her thoughts before answering. “Hello, Lex.”

“Are you okay?”

She was taken aback by the question. “What?”

“I asked if you’re okay. I saw you got hit taking that bullet for your CFO. Your girlfriends’s heroics are rubbing off on you.”

Lex was… worried about her well-being? “You do remember that you have sent trained assassins to try and murder me before, right? I don’t understand where the concern is coming from.”

Lex heaved a dramatic sigh. “Yes, but I knew you could outwit them. If I actually wanted you dead, I would’ve used snipers. Quick and easy with minimal bloodshed. The point is that a random person shot you. Are you okay? Supergirl took you to the DEO, didn’t she?”

“I’m okay, Lex. They were able to get it out and cleaned quickly enough. I’m a little sore, but I’ll live.” She wasn't exactly sure why she was reassuring her brother.

“I can have her killed easily. There wasn’t a clear picture of her face or anything, but-”

“No, Lex. I don’t need anyone murdered for me. She wanted the person who poisoned her child to pay. It may not have been the proper way to deal with it, but it doesn’t warrant murder.”

“There’s less than a 12 percent chance the poisonings were you, Lena. I do hope you know that. This is very clearly a setup job. Two guesses on who it is that's framing you.”

Lena clenched her jaw. “There's no proof Edge did this.”

“Oh come on, Lena! Think like the Luthor you are! Morgan Edge is irked that you outsmarted him, so he devised this plan to get the public to distrust you all over again. Even if you didn’t care about him dragging the Luthor name through the mud, he’s poisoning innocent children. Not even I did that!”

Did he just-?

“No, you murdered 30 people and the judge because you thought it was funny.”

“Semantics.” Lena could see him waving his hand in the air with indifference. “I’ll murder Morgan Edge as well, if dear Mother doesn’t beat me to it, that is. If anyone is going to kill you, it’s me. Not some scrappy businessman that can't frame you properly.”

“Gee, thanks,” she deadpanned. “I can handle Edge on my own, I don’t need my family to fight my battles for me. And I don’t need anyone murdered.”

“Sometimes murder is the only option. If I were to escape, would you trust me to be alive? I have stashes of Kryptonite that not even you know where it is.” He then lowered his voice. “And don’t you forget that _I_ was the one who created the spider. I know how it’s supposed to work, what it’s weaknesses are, how it ticks.” A chill ran down her spine.

Lena gulped and hoped Lex didn’t hear the waver in her voice. “Bold of you to assume you’re ever escaping, Lex. You’re going to rot in there for the rest of your life, just as you should.”

“Oh, Lena,” he sneered. “You should watch your tone. I may be behind bars, but don’t forget I still have power. I, of course, wouldn’t go after you directly. But Kara… well, I know kale isn't her only green weakness.”

She tightened her grip on her phone. It started to crack. “I don’t know what you think you know-”

“Do you take me as a fool, sister? The DEO doesn’t do a good job erasing security cameras that show her changing. Your spider friend, on the other hand, is impossible to catch, which no doubt is because of you. I will find out who she is and crush her under my heel like the pest she is.”

“Watch it, brother, or this alliance is over. Making a move on them will be making a move on me. And I promise I won’t hesitate to put you down if I need to.”

Lex’s cackle was like nails on a chalkboard. “That’s right, Lena. _That’s_ who you are, not a wannabe superhero. In my opinion, your CFO could’ve taken the bullet-”

Lena’s phone short-circuited. Frustrated, she threw it against the wall and watched as it broke into pieces.

“Fuck!”

Felicia opened the door with a worried expression. “Lena? Are you okay?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that!” The Black Cat tentatively walked over to her friend and offered a wrapped sandwich. The Spider looked at it then to Felicia’s face. “Sorry for snapping at you. Kara and I got into an argument and then Lex called and I broke my phone and everything is a mess.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” The taller woman grabbed two chairs and dragged them over to the side.

Lena sat down and slowly unwrapped the sandwich. It was peanut butter with strawberry jam. “Kara’s mad that I jumped in front of the bullet that was going to hit Sam.”

“She’s mad you saved Sam? That doesn’t sound like her.”

“She thinks I could have somehow avoided the bullet altogether, but I had already dodged three. I think that she thinks that I purposely dove in front of the bullet. That I was trying to get hit.”

Felicia hesitated before asking, “Were you?”

“Of course not! How could you guys think that?”

“You’ve always been the martyr, Lena. And with everything going on…”

Lena bit into the sandwich and looked away. How could they even think that about her? All she wanted to do was save her best friend from pain. The bullet wound would be healed by the end of the day.

“Remember when you first met Lex?”

“Yeah. You brought me to the Luthor Mansion and Harry was so salty we didn’t invite him. Lex looked me up and down and said, ‘she’s not the one’ and walked away. Lillian scolded him and you were red in the face from embarrassment or anger, I wasn’t sure. Then, at dinner, he tried to do the whole protective big brother act.” Felicia smiled at the memory. Lex still had a full head of hair back then and he kind of reminded her of a mole-rat.

“Andrea was never scared of Lex. In fact, she used to antagonize him on purpose - something he found annoying yet endearing. Jack was scared shitless, and rightfully so. Lex was always so protective.” Lena got a faraway look in her eyes. “Sometimes I wonder what it’d be like if Lex didn’t fear aliens so much. If my mum never died and Lionel didn’t take me in.”

“What did Lex say?”

Lena stayed quiet as she ate her sandwich. Felicia knew not to push. Lena was very skittish when it came to talking about her feelings or anything personal.

“So what’s up with you, Pam, and Harley?” It was a deflective tactic, they both knew it, but she took the bait regardless.

“I suppose I owe you a thank you since you’re the one who talked to Harley.” Felicia was uncharacteristically shy. “We’re taking things slow right now, all three of us. I still live at the penthouse but I’m over at their house a lot. Pam is thinking of renovating the room so it’s bigger for all three of us when I do move in. It’s so new and so different from anything I’ve done before, but… I really, really think this is it, Lena.”

The metahuman elbowed her playfully. “You’re willing to spend all 9 lives with them?”

“I think I’ve got about four of them left.” She looked down and smiled. “But, yeah, I would be willing to.”

The two sat in silence, taking in each other's company. So much has changed from their MIT days. Felicia became an extraordinaire thief like her father and Lena got superpowers and protects a city that doesn’t love her. The Black Cat now had two girlfriends who are villains turned domestic and the Spider had a superhero alien girlfriend. They were both practically billionaires, but Felicia avoided the IRS and committed tax fraud. Thinking about it, Lena was fairly certain that Supergirl did too.

But, that wasn’t the point.

The point was that so much had changed within the span of five years. It made Lena anxious for the future. What else could change? Who else could turn from enemy to friend? Friend to foe?

“Lex knows Kara is Supergirl. And he wants to squish Spider-Woman under his heel.”

“Well, shit.” Felicia wasn’t sure what to say. “Want to get drunk and make fun of historical films like we used to back in the day?”

A smile tugged at Lena’s lips. “Sounds like a plan.”

They snuck out of the Terrarium, being careful not to be spotted. Felicia handed Lena a helmet and they mounted her bike. Thankfully, the thief was a much more careful driver compared to Maggie. Lena didn’t think her stitches would stay in place if the detective was driving.

When they arrived, Lena borrowed Felicia’s hoodie so the security cameras wouldn’t recognize her. She had been recently shot, so she technically couldn’t be seen out and about. That was going to be an obnoxious factor she didn’t account for. How long did gunshot wounds take to heal? Weeks? Months? She’d have to ask Alex.

Felicia’s apartment was not what Lena was expecting. Most penthouses had the same bright white walls with wall-length windows. However, the walls were an obsidian black with velvet drapes covering the windows. Not to mention the walls were decorated with what were presumingly stolen paintings.

“You like?” Felicia smirked as she twirled in a circle with her arms spread. “Owner doesn’t ask questions as long as I pay him in full, which is convenient for me. Upstairs I have all of the valuable things.”

“You mean you have things that are more expensive than this?”

“That’s right,” she boasted.

Lena knew Felicia was good, but she didn’t think she was _that_ good. Perhaps Lena should have taken Felicia up on the offer to run away and live a life of crime.

They walked into the kitchen. Felicia opened a cupboard and took out a bottle of scotch along with two glasses. Just out of sight was a balcony. Curiously, Lena walked towards it. A pair of grappling hooks were thrown on the floor.

They sat on the chairs outside watching the fleeting rays of sunlight. “How close is Maxwell to learning my secret?”

Felicia traced the top of her glass with her finger. “Closer than Edge. He knows there are two people who pose as Spider-Woman. The double uses the Mark II and is an L-Corp employee. They do not have spider-powers but instead relies on the suit to mimic the powers. Is he right on that aspect? I didn’t know you pulled a switcheroo.”

“He’s right. Jess uses the suit when I’m working to help avoid suspicion. I didn’t think anyone would catch on that there were two of us.” Lena would have to warn Jess to be careful. “What does he have on me?”

“He’s very adamant on thinking it’s you. But he has no proof. Timelines don’t match up, even excluding the Mark II suit altogether. You’ve had business calls while Spider-Woman was out or you’d be seen at CatCo. The only scrap of proof he thinks he has is Spider-Woman’s brutal injuries line up with when you weren't seen. But even that is hypothetical.”

Maxwell Lord. He really was a pain in the ass.

“Lord owes me one. I could ask him to back off, but that might expose myself.” She downed the rest of the glass. “I’ll have to take care of him soon.”

Felicia was about to say something but her phone rang. “Hello? How’d you get my number? Oh. Yeah. Okay.” She handed the phone to Lena. “It’s Kara.”

Lena took the phone feeling weirdly nervous. “Hello?”

“Lena? Sam and I are at this pool and all the kids who got sick have been here,” Kara rushed to explain.

“What?” Lena felt like she was missing something. Why were they at a pool this late at night? How did they know the sick kids had been there before?

“Sam and I were investigating the poisonings. We found something in common here. I sent Winn a sample and it turns out there’s a synthetic chemical, that, when it touches water, it becomes toxic to the body. It mimics the same symptoms as lead poisoning. And it’s all in the pool.”

Lena stood up and walked to the railing, Felicia cautiously eyeing her as she did so. “Well, how did it get in the swimming pool?

“It’s in the chlorine containers. They’ve been using it instead of chlorine. Sam and I are gonna try to track down the manufacturer. It’s a company named Acre Lee Chemical.”

“Acre Lee Chemical?” she echoed.

“Yeah, you know it?”

“No. Thank you, both of you. I’ve got to go.” Lena immediately hung up the phone. Her heart was racing in her chest. “I’ve got to look something up real quick.” God, Lena missed Hope.

She logged into her email and scrolled back a couple of months. She found the email she had Jess send her about Morgan Edge’s company. Acre Lee Chemical was right at the top of the list.

“That son of a bitch. I’m going to kill him.”

“Lena? Is everything okay?”

She handed the phone back to its owner after logging out of her email. “Yeah. I’m going to go to the bathroom real quick.”

Felicia told her where it was. Once inside, Lena tapped her rings and activated the Iron Spider. She may not have Hope, but she could still manually use her suit. Using the x-ray vision, she found Black Cat’s room. In there was a safe with a pistol. 

Lena quietly opened the door and clung onto the ceiling. Once she obtained the gun, she opened the window and swung out. Felicia would understand. Or not.

The Spider activated the EMP to short circuit the cameras. When she landed, she dropped the suit and headed inside Edge’s building. The stitches were starting to loosen and itch, but she was a woman on a mission. She pressed her hand to the wound and focused on the adrenaline.

“Lena.” Morgan Edge looked genuinely surprised to see her. “I would think you’d be in a hospital somewhere. Heard you got shot.”

She clutched her stomach tighter. “Acre Lee.”

“Acre what? Acre Lee. Acree Lee, that’s where the coyote gets all the stuff that he’s gonna use to kill the roadrunner from, right?”

“It’s a company you own. I remembered it from due diligence before I invested in your buildings. Established in 1982, manufactures hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide and also simple chlorine used for swimming pools. Acquired by Edge Global seven years ago.”

His heart rate spiked. She could practically smell the fear coming off of him.

“I’d have to check my records, you know. I don’t remember everything I invest in.”

“You used it to poison kids in swimming pools in order to drag my name through the mud.”

His facade was good, she had to give him that. “Come on. That’s it? That’s what you got? I say you did it, you say I did it? I expected better out of you.” Lena pulled out the pistol she swiped from Felicia and aimed it directly at Edge’s stupid face. “Now that’s a disappointment.

“When that mom shot me, I knew she was doing the right thing. Because whoever was responsible for this, they deserve to die. No trial, no jury. Just erased from the world.”

“You need help, Lena, ‘cause you’re not.. You’re not thinking clearly.” She probably wasn’t. But, what Lex had said earlier...

“I’m thinking like a Luthor.”

She zeroed in on his heartbeat, it sounded like it was about to jump out of his chest. His breathing quickened as well, his eyes panicked. She was so focused on him, she didn’t hear someone sneak up behind her. Her Spider-Sense warned her a second too late, she was hit upside the head with a hard object and had a rag pressed into her face. She promptly blacked out.

Lena jolted awake. The first thing she noticed was that she was strapped to a seat. The second was that her spider-sense was going off. The third was that she was… on a plane?

“What the…” The memories flooded to Lena. Ah, right. Edge.

Lena unbuckled herself and headed to the front of the plane. Her senses were all over the place and it made her slightly disoriented. Not to mention her stitches had come undone. 

The plane was on auto-pilot which only confirmed her suspicion that Edge was pulling a stunt of some sort. Knowing him, there could’ve been a camera somewhere watching her.

She walked back to where she was strapped in. That’s when she noticed the barrels of Acre Lee Chemicals. Lena flipped open her watch and pressed the button calling for Supergirl. It was the first time she’s used it and she was unsure if it was going to work. All of a sudden, the hatch opened.

Lena leaned against the wall, sticking her hands to it to keep herself from falling into the lake below. Then she noticed the rope keeping the chemicals tied in detached. She grabbed a nearby pole and looped it through the rope, into a groove on the plane. The chemicals were threatening to fall in the water, but she stayed strong. The plane started to tilt further.

“Lena!” Supergirl flew into the plane and closed the hatch. “What happened? What’s going on?”

The plane suddenly started to dive.

“He’s going to crash the plane into the water. You try to stop it and I’ll see if I can override the auto-pilot.”

Supergirl went to the middle of the plane and started to fly up, leveling the aircraft. Lena looked at the console. It wasn’t anything she flew before, but all keyboards were built the same, right? She was barely figuring it out when the plane cracked in half.

Kara caught both halves of the plane. “I can’t hold both!

Lena licked her lips. She could barely think over the roaring of the wind and her heart in her ears. “Save the chemicals, not me!”

“No! I’m not gonna drop you!” Supergirl looked at her with indignation.

“Let me go.”

“No! Climb, Lena, climb!”

Realizing Supergirl’s hold was slipping, Lena stuck her hands to the wall and started to climb. Once she was within reach, she jumped knowing her girlfriend would catch her. She was now dangling hundreds of feet away from the ground over a lake. Her two biggest fears were coming to life. Was she having a nightmare?

“Climb on my back, I’m going to take us to a safe place.” Kara squeezed Lena’s hand to get her attention. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got you, Lena. We’ve been flying before, climb on. It’s okay.”

Numbly, she did as she was told. Lena wasn’t sure what happened the rest of the night. She was aware of Kara dropping her off with Sam so she could tell J’onn about what happened. She knew Sam was talking to her, upset, worried, relieved, but she wasn’t sure what was being said. She knew she drank a cup of tea her friend made her, but she couldn’t remember what flavor it was.

“You’re in shock, Lena.” Somehow, naming the numbing feeling she was experiencing brought her to her senses. “You’ve had two close calls today. How about I get the spare room ready for you?”

“That sounds like a good idea, Sam.” Lena smiled at her friend. Once Sam was out of view, Lena activated her suit once more and left out of the kitchen window.

Edge Global’s top floor had a light on. The bastard was in his office.

Spider-Woman crawled to the top of the building and rounded it until she found an open window. Once inside, she activated the EMP once more and crawled onto the ceiling towards Edge’s office. He jumped in his seat when he saw her approaching. The blue lenses casted an ominous glow in the dim hallway.

Lena dropped from the ceiling and headed right to him. “For a man pushing his fifties, you’re very childish and immature. Trying to murder Lena Luthor because she bought a company you were going to ruin? Boo-fucking-hoo. But poisoning innocent children and trying to poison the city to try and frame her? That's despicable and low. Are you trying to compensate for something? Did you not get enough attention when you were a child?”

Edge stood up and rounded his desk. “Who are you to come in here and accuse me of such crimes? To mock me in my own office?”

“I knew you weren’t all that intelligent, but to not know who I am?” Lena activated the extra limbs. They sprang to life and stayed by her side, ready for their commands. “Do you want me to climb on the walls again?”

His eye twitched. “What are you doing here, Spider-Woman? You’re just like Supergirl. Both of you are all sunshine and rainbows. You don’t have the guts to do anything to me.”

“I don’t, do I?” Lena chuckled. She grabbed Edge by his collar and exited the window she came in from.

He squirmed in her grip. “Hey, now. Let’s not get hasty,” he pleaded. Lena ignored him and walked up his building onto the roof. She perched on the ledge, dangling the man over the side.

“I can hear your heartbeat, you know. I know you’re scared.” One of the mechanical limbs poked his cheek. He flinched back and almost fell. He grasped Spider-Woman’s arm. “How do you think Lena felt? On that plane, you were going to crash into the lake?” She jerked him to the side. “How does it feel, Edge? Knowing that I can sneeze and drop you to your death?”

She loosened her grip and he tightened his. “Hey, hey, this is a huge misunderstanding, okay? I don’t even own Acre Lee Chemicals, we sold it two years ago! Whoever owns it must’ve been the one to put her on that plane!”

“Is that so?” He nodded frantically. “Well, why didn’t you say so.” She put him on the ledge and watched as his face went from distressed to relieved. “You literally can’t tell the truth to save your life. Pathetic.” Lena was about to push him off and catch him in a web when Supergirl showed up.

“Spider-Woman, what are you doing?” Supergirl narrowed her eyes.

Lena retracted her arms and wrapped a real one around the man. “Morgan and I were having a friendly chat. It turns out he sold Acree Lee Chemicals two years ago. There’s nothing tying him to what happened to Lena.”

Supergirl hovered closer. “On the roof? You should go home. It’s late. I can take things from here.”

Spider-Woman still wanted to yeet the man off his building. She unwrapped her arm from the man. “Of course, Supergirl.” Lena grit her teeth and swung away.

Not wanting to deal with Kara’s speech that was surely about to happen soon, she decided to go to Jess’. It was a little after midnight, but she knew her friend would take her in.

Spider-Woman gently rapped on the bedroom window. Jess woke up and fell out of bed when the only thing she saw was the glowing eyes and huge silhouette.

“Lena?” Jess stumbled over to the window and pushed it open. “What are you doing here? What time is it? Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”

“I’ve been through a lot today and I don’t want to be lectured right now. I was hoping I could spend the night?”

Jess rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “You can’t run forever, Lena. From whatever it is you're avoiding.”

Lena deactivated the suit and ran a hand through her hair. She leaned tiredly against the wall, the days' actions finally catching up with her.

“I know, I know. I’ll deal with everything tomorrow. But for right now, I don’t want to think about it.”

“Okay.” Jess knew that Lena coming to her was a big sign of trust. She could allow one day of solace. “Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

“No, no. I’m just exhausted.”

Jess grabbed an old shirt and a pair of sweats and threw it towards Lena. As the metahuman changed, Jess grabbed a couple of spare blankets and a pillow and prepared the couch for her guest. They got ready for bed and said goodnight. When Jess’s head hit her pillow, she knocked out once again.

When she woke up, she made sure to be quiet as she got ready. Just as she assumed, Lena was still blissfully sleeping away. The stress lines that were on her boss’s face the night before were gone. There was even a small line of drool coming out from the corner of her mouth.

As she was making breakfast, the lab technician checked her phone and saw she had two missed calls and twenty messages from Sam, a missed call and three messages from Kara, and a missed call and a message from Maggie. Jess pinched the bridge of her nose. What did Lena do this time?

She listened to Sam’s frantic voicemails, then Kara’s, and then Maggie’s. Jess pursed her lips and shook her head. Out of all the years Jess had known her boss, Lena was never that reckless. She was always level-headed and she thought everything through, so why was she all of a sudden acting out? The only time Lena slipped was when Lex was involved. Did he make contact with her and threaten her? If he did, Jess was going to put the suit on and kick that bald motherfucker’s head in.

Woah. Deep breaths.

First thing first, Jess had to get Lena a new phone. After that, she messaged the group chat asking what to do. She had work, obviously, but she didn’t want to leave Lena alone on the couch by herself. She was going through something, so she’d need her friends. However, Maggie and Sam agreed she needed some space. Kara said she’d check on her after work.

Jess took her time getting ready. She was still reluctant to leave Lena, but she and Peter were going to work with the other lab nerds to try and come up with a solution to the lead poisonings since they had the exact compound. She put the food in the fridge and wrote a quick note before dashing out the door, hoping traffic wouldn’t be too bad.

-

Lena woke up feeling refreshed. She still felt sore from the bullet wound yesterday, but she was significantly better than yesterday.

Oh, crap. Yesterday.

She sat up and looked around. Plenty of sun was filtering in through the kitchen meaning it was no longer the morning. Good thing she didn’t have to go to work. Lena wandered into the kitchen and found a piece of paper with an orange on it.

_Kara caught me up on what happened yesterday. She’s worried, Lena. We all are. I didn’t want to leave you alone, but Maggie said we should give you some space. I made you breakfast, it’s in the fridge. Hope is finished with her update! I’ve also sent a replacement phone to your house. Don’t get caught sneaking out!_

_Jess xoxo_

Lena ate the french toast Jess left in silence. According to the clock on the stove, it was actually almost 11 am. She wasn’t sure what to do with her day, but she knew she couldn’t hide in her employee’s house all day.

Before she left, Lena washed the dishes and neatly placed the folded blankets on Jess’s bed. The camouflage on the suit lasted her whole journey home. At least that worked.

The very first thing the Spider did when she got inside was to go straight into the lab. She first installed Hope into the house so she could have her trusty companion to talk to.

“It feels good to not be in hibernation mode anymore.” The lights flashed a couple of times as if Hope was adjusting herself to the house once more. “I have knowledge of Krypton. The language, the culture, and the classes.”

“Yes, you do. Winn had a flash drive with everything the DEO knew about it and another one from the Fortress. That’s why it took so long.”

“It indeed took a long time. You started on Saturday the 8th and now it is Tuesday the 11th. I will now scan the news to see what I have missed out on.”

Lena continued to sync her AI to the other suits remotely. It was lonely without her friend - something she hadn’t realized before. Lena wasn’t used to being alone recently. She always had Hope in her ear or she had Maggie during patrols or she was bantering with the people she fought. Maybe she did that to make up for the years she was in solitude growing up in the Luthor Mansion.

“I see you’ve been up to trouble while I was incapacitated, Boss,” Hope said. “An assassination attempt resulting in a GSW to the stomach, a broken phone, almost dying in a plane crash, and almost killing Morgan Edge. And that all happened yesterday.”

“Yup.”

The lights dimmed in sympathy or disappointment, Lena wasn’t sure. She decided it was the former.

“Since you don’t have your phone, I’m assuming you haven’t seen this.”

_[Morgan Edge - RealMorganEdge]_

_The Daily Buglee is absolutely right about Spider-Woman. SHe is a mence to society! I fear for my safety around her._

“That bastard.” At least he didn’t expose that she had tried to kill him. Not that anyone would believe him, of course.

Lena made sure her AI was functioning like she was supposed to then headed downstairs for a snack. There was a knock at the door. Lena looked through the peephole and saw a man leave a package at the door. Hope scanned it and confirmed it was the phone Jess had said she ordered. When the man was out of sight, she quickly opened the door and took it inside. Thankfully, she had everything backed up in Hope’s drive. It would take an hour for everything to download, and she knew exactly what to do to kill some time.

Changing into the Advanced Suit, Spider-Woman swung towards L-Corp. In between her building and the one next to it, she started to spin a web. She jumped around and let her instincts take over. She had never spun a web this large before, but it was somehow calming to do it.

There was now a spiral orb web ten stories long in between the buildings. But she wasn’t done. She climbed on her web to add the details. She was working not too far off the ground, so many passbyers looked up curiously. There were even people who had stopped walking to record her. Never before had Spider-Woman made an intricate web before. And never had she done anything on L-Corp’s building.

When the details were done, Spider-Woman went to get the final piece.

“Lovely day out, isn’t it, Morgan?” The Web-Head asked as she lowered herself from the overhead on the balcony.

“Spider-Woman,” he spat. 

“Oh, so you do learn!” She hung upside down and observed him. His hands were shaking slightly. “It’s ironic how you called _me_ a menace to society when _you_ poisoned children.”

He turned to face her. “I am going to find out who you are under that mask and make your life a living hell. You’ll wish you never crossed me.”

“Get in line, Morgan. You’re not special and you don’t scare me. All you egotistical men are the same. Maybe it’s time to teach you a lesson.”

Spider-Woman grabbed Edge and headed towards the web she made. He was yelling at her to let him go and pounding on her back since she had slung him over his shoulder. She did flip in mid-air to spook him and he shut up right away. When she made it to her masterpiece, she put Edge smack in the middle. She shot a couple of webs to keep him secured and went to the building across the street to admire her handiwork.

“Hope, you getting this?”

“I am, Boss,” Hope confirmed.

Satisfied, she went back home to get her phone and get some lab time in.

_[Spidey - NCWallCrawler]_

_Remember, people, lying is bad. One day, you'll be tangled in your own web of lies._

_(Attached is a photo that says it's unavaiable but it's supposed to be Morgan Edge in Spider-Woman's web. Right over his head would be the words LIAR.)_

“Lena?” Kara called out as she entered the house. It was dead silent and all the lights were turned off. That in of itself wasn’t unusual, but Kara felt uneasy. She headed upstairs and saw light filtering out of the lab. She opened the door and saw Lena hunched over, working on something. “Lena?”

The vigilante didn’t turn around. “Hello, Kara.”

“What are you working on?”

Lena swiped whatever it was off the table. “Trash, apparently.” She tightened her fists at her side. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re worried about you, babe. You jumped in front of a bullet, then you ran out on Felicia yesterday, tried to kill Edge, then he tried to kill you, then you ran out on Sam and tried to kill him again, then-”

“I didn’t try to kill him the second time,” she interjected.

“But you did try to kill him the first time. I didn’t think I would have to tell you that murder is wrong, Lena.” Kara walked around the table so she was face-to-face with her girlfriend. “What was going through your head?”

“I was thinking like a Luthor. There are some people in the world that have to be put down and Edge is one of them.”

Kara was taken aback by that. “What…” She knew Lex had called Lena, but what did he say to her? “You don’t actually believe that, do you?”

Lena’s knuckles turned white and a few sparks shot out of them. “What difference does it make if I do?”

“What did Lex say to you, Lena? I know you don’t believe in taking other people’s lives. So why....?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Kara.” Lena turned her back to the blonde once more. She loosened her fists and started to fiddle with her hands.

“Everyone thinks you’re in recovery, so you can’t exactly go anywhere. We have to talk about this. You can’t keep it bottled up inside.”

Lena whipped around. “I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You don’t want to talk about it or you just don’t want to talk to me about it?” Kara tried not to sound too hurt. She and Lena never kept secrets from each other, so why was she being so standoffish? Did Kara do something wrong?

The brunette picked up on Kara’s distress. “I don’t want to talk about it with you.”

Okay, that stung. Kara tried to think about it rationally. Lena was in shock and despair. She was just lashing out.

“Do you want me to ask Harley to come over tomorrow?”

The metahuman stayed silent for a few minutes. Kara patiently waited. “Okay.”

“Okay.” That was a step forward. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No, no.” Lena walked around the table and took Kara’s hands while avoiding eye-contact. “I love you. So, so much Kara. Also, you’re right & I don’t actually think that. It’s just…” She shook her head. Her watery eyes met Kara’s. “Can we go to bed and you hold me?”

“Okay.”

Kara wasn’t going to lie, Lena’s behavior was scaring her. She had half a mind to fly to Rykers and ask Lex what the hell he said to his sister, but she knew that would only make matters worse. Instead, she held Lena in her arms and assured her that everything was going to be okay. Though, it sounded like she was reassuring herself more than Lena.

-

“I know we usually have our sessions one on one, but I thought it would be okay if Kara joined us for this one. Would that be alright, Lena?” Harleen sat on Lena’s couch with a notebook on her lap and a pen in her hand. Kara and Lena sat across from her on the opposite couch on opposite sides.

Lena licked her lips and nervously nodded. She always told Kara anything of importance that was said during therapy and Lena trusted her with her whole being, but it was just… different having her physically present during a session.

“And Kara, do you mind being in this session?” The alien shook her head. “Okay, let’s get started.” Harleen looked down at her notes. She had a list of things she wanted to go over after hearing what Kara, Pam, Felicia, and Sam told her. “What happened the other day? In the morning?”

“I was at Catco when I heard people whispering about me. I turned to the T.V. and saw Morgan Edge at my hospital. There, he was slandering my name by saying that my lead device poisoned children.”

“And how did that make you feel? When he was on the news saying that?”

“I felt… mad.” Lena closed her eyes so she could concentrate. “I was mad and humiliated and ashamed and embarrassed. But most of all, I was pissed.”

Harleen nodded along as she wrote that down. “Why did you feel humiliated and embarrassed? He wasn’t necessarily belittling you or exposing you.”

“Because he was telling the whole city my mistake.” She opened her eyes and looked at her lap. Her hands were grasping each other tightly. “At that time, I wasn’t sure if I was the cause or not, so I felt thrown off. He had the obvious upper hand and I didn’t like how that felt.”

“Of course. Then you had a press conference. I heard you got shot saving Sam. Kara, how did that make you feel?”

Kara had a deer-in-the-headlights look. She didn’t know she was actually going to be participating. “Um, it scared me. I caught the first bullet that would have really done some damage. I wasn’t sure what to do and the next thing I saw was Sam calling out that Lena got shot. Then, I felt...upset, I think. At myself for not being Supergirl and stopping all the bullets. When I took her to the Terrarium, I was worried.”

“Why were you worried? Lena has an advanced healing factor.”

“It wasn’t her physical health I was worried about, it was her mental one.” Lena was about to interject but Harley raised her hand and told Kara to continue. “After she left the hospital, I could hear her heart beating the way it does when she’s upset. I know she would never do anything to harm herself on purpose, but I was worried. Sometimes she goes headfirst into something and comes out injured. I worry that she’s trying to see how much her body can take and one day she won’t be able to recover.”

“I see. Do you want to say anything, Lena?”

Lena stared at Kara with her mouth agape. “How come you’ve never said anything?”

Kara blushed and averted her gaze. “I know that you’re more strategic than I am and more careful. So I didn’t want you to, I don’t know, think me a hypocrite if I told you not to dive into a situation since that’s exactly what I do. I didn’t want to seem overbearing, condescending, or anything. I love you so much, Lena, but it scares me sometimes when you’re out there fighting. You use your body as a human shield, acting like you’re as invincible as me, but you’re not. I don’t know if you’re not aware you do that, or if you just don’t care about your body getting hurt, or what. And, I guess I didn’t say anything because we’ve found a good rhythm, I didn’t want to mess it up,” she rambled.

“Oh, Kara.” Lena scooted closer to her girlfriend and took her hand. “I suppose I’m aware and not aware I do that. With Sam, I really did try to get us both out of the way but my speed isn’t like yours or Barry’s. I try to be careful while I’m out there, but sometimes I feel like I deserve to be hit, too. Being Spider-Woman isn’t enough to absolve my family and I’s sin, I need to be punished too.”

“Interesting.” Harleen wrote that down next to her doodle of a squashed spider. “This is good. Although I want to move on, we will revisit this before we’re done. Felicia told me that you stole her gun and disappeared. The next thing anyone knows is that you’re on a crashing plane. Why did you take the gun and where did you go?”

“I tried to kill Edge,” she admitted with no emotion. Harleen recognized her patient’s defense mechanism, she saw Lena’s walls high up with a lock and key, the impassive mask staring directly passed her shoulder.

“Why?”

Lena looked at her watch as if it was going to save her from the situation. “Lex called me. While Pam was out and Felicia was on her way, he called and he said… he said that he knows Kara is Supergirl.” She heard the Super’s heart tick and her breath catch in her throat. “I fell for his stupid game. He got in my head and it messed me up. I felt like he was testing me since he kept flaunting in my face how I wasn’t thinking like a Luthor and… I’m stupid. I don’t know, I thought maybe if I took Edge out, Lex wouldn’t go after Kara or Spider-Woman.”

“I understand. But, coming from someone who has murdered people in the past, it wouldn’t have solved anything. You’re a morally grey person, Lena, but I know that even you know murder is wrong. All you would have been doing would be playing into your brother’s hand. He wants you to embrace the evil side, but you’re better than that.”

It was a bit odd for Harley Quinn of all people to talk to Lena about morals, but she was a complete moron, so she’d take the lesson.

Kara squeezed the vigilante’s hand to get her attention. “Did he threaten you? Did he threaten me?”

“Not exactly. He just has a short temper.”

Harley made note of that as well to revisit. She had been doing well when it came to Lena opening up about her brother. She’d see if she could pull more out of her later.

“Moving on from this, Sam said you snuck out of her house then Supergirl found you hanging Edge over his building. Why did you go back to him?

“I wanted him to pay for almost killing me. I wasn’t going to kill him the second time, all I was going to do was give him a good fright.”

“Okay, that’s fair. There’s nothing wrong with a good joke,” Harley crowed.

The session lasted a total of two hours and 13 minutes. There was no gossiping afterward, just pure discussions from both Kara and Lena. By the end, all three women were huddled on the couch crying, Harley being the loudest of them all.

(If Hope was capable of crying, she would have as well)

That night, Kara and Lena held each other tight, still exhausted from the session. It was rough and mentally draining, but they knew it was a necessary and needed step for their relationship.

_[Sara: Hey Spidey! How's it going?_

_Lena: I've been framed for poisoning innocent children, someone tried to kill me at a press conference but shot my stomach instead, I almost murdered a man, I was almost in a plane crash, and Kara and I went to therapy. So, I'm oka, I guess. What about you?_

_S: If we're being honest abt everything,, my girlfriend (well now ex) found out she's a clone and is having an existential crisis and we're about to fight a demon even though we don't have enough people for it and it's forces. Oh, and I'm working with the guy who murdered my sister._

_L: Sounds like we've had a rough go of it lately, eh? Should we have a crossover so I can have a little get away and help you? We can have drinks afterward._

_S: I like the way you think, Luthor. Come on over to Earth-1 and get in touch with Cisco. He can get you aboard the Waverider no problem_

_L: Aye, aye Captain Lance. I'm intrigued to see you in action with your team. And I want to introduce myself to the new members._

_S: I'm rolling my eyes, just so you know. We'll be awaiting your arrival, Spider-Woman ;p_

_L: *Thumbs up emoji*]_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You made it! Soooooo I kind of went overboard and made different playlists for like each of the major characters/ Not all of them are done but I want to share them anyway. If you listen to the songs in order, it's supposed to be about their early life to the present.
> 
> SO first, we of course, have [Lena’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3u4wox2zAJV1uhqZ5TaQ3q?si=315thuuNQMioIGswNf2DqA) I don't think I need to say much about hers.
> 
> Then, we have [Holy Trinity plus Lena’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ZkYaxusktqzqeT7v6cs20?si=NmOfnl7ZR9irh5jrspG_8A) This one is like a party playlist, what they listen to when they party together.
> 
> Here's [Maggie’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6fpCa1NtEUJqq72SdH9DQ9?si=AIQwctMqSb6PgFrqcJ2ovg) I'm not done, but she has like the "emo" songs and some spanish and some lesbian ones.
> 
> Here's [Jess’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/65IrOFFb5O0gui1UhaK13v?si=thBK6JtsTZikwLyt5C1vYA) Again, not done. She has chill vibes! Mostly.
> 
> Here's [Sam’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2LLRMiQbImVyq7MJaoL26U?si=17FE24W5TqKBw-slyLja8g) Not done at all. Breakup and sad songs. Won't tell you why. I'll be adding some spanish songs as well.
> 
> Here's [Kara’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0eYHpPJWLkNMk48OgNvZxt?si=jMg8wcUCQ5iCyzPypv_JrQ) Not done. She has mostly happy songs and like feminist empoweing ones. The first like 5 are about her planet exploading hahahaha. Then there's other music because I doubt Kara limits herself to American/English music.
> 
> Here's [Felicia’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4uoWDFcfPYMSCf9kre24cA?si=7Y3M9k2ESgar4DQC3TPDHQ) I was going for bad bitch vibes with this one. SOme other stuff are thrown in.
> 
> Here's [Poison Ivy’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/42EzQ9NoS5HZnI2TN3moHE?si=6b8yztqSTmSI2l6-wshSeA) The first half is about her life as Pamela Isley then it's about her turning intoo Poison Ivy. Not sure what these vibes are and I'm totally not done with it.
> 
> Here's [Harley Quinn’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3iVF2PKMncPxvvhFtmWAbu?si=4j9KUYpDSDudC8Jnr1kd4Q) I was going for crazy vibes haha
> 
> Here's [Ruby’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/35gYuA5ByrNz3CB7myAFbS?si=v4OH54ciTQuhsuRnUVeuOA) I don't know what I'm going for at all with her. SO not much songs yet.
> 
> Sooo yeah. Give those a listen if you will. Tell me what your favorites are or if you have any recommendations for any of the characters. Also, how's my writing? I've been very self-conscious about it as of late. Hope everyone is staying safe and doing well!
> 
> [my tumblr](https://timelords-angel-is-sherlocked.tumblr.com/)


	25. Beebo the Demon Slayer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena takes a trip to Earth-1 to help her old friend Sara Lance with a little demon problem while National City believes her to be at home recovering from a gunshot wound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly 15 thousand word chapter, strap yourselves in!
> 
> Author's Note at end (don't worry, I'm not abandoning the story!)

[Lena: Dinner at my place tomorrow night.

Maggie (nicknamed 'ACAB' with a detective emoji): spider emoji

Poison Ivy (nicknamed 'if I had to choose a metahuman': spider emoji

Ruby (nicknamed 'Meme Supreme' with a one hundreed emoji): spider emoji

Sam (nicknamed 'Cherry' with a cherry emoji): spider emoji

Felicia (nicknamed 'Cat in the Hat'): Is this some group chat thing I don't understand?

Ruby: yes, heart emoji

Lena opened the door and rolled her eyes when she saw Maggie holding ‘Get Well’ balloons and a bouquet of flowers.

“What? I don’t want to look suspicious just walking into your house. And, you shouldn’t be answering the door. What if someone sees you?”

The Wall-Crawler put the flowers in a vase and let the balloons float in the living room. “Kara’s still at work. Would you have rathered me shoot a web and opened the door that way?”

“Ew, no.” Maggie sat on the couch and smacked a balloon string away from her face. “I did buy you chocolates, but I ate them while I was standing in line. It’s that time of the month again.”

Lena sat down next to Maggie and kicked the detective’s feet off the coffee table. “Did Jess brew your Wolfsbane potion? Or should I expect you to turn into a werewolf and ruin my house looking for chocolate?”

“Har, har.” Maggie tossed a card with hearts on the front onto the table. “You’re such a nerd.”

“But you understood the reference,” she pointed out. Before Maggie could respond, someone knocked on the door. Maggie groaned since she had just gotten comfortable, but she said she would go open the door. Sam and Ruby walked in holding flowers and a 'Get Well' card. “Please, tell me you didn’t plan this?”

Sam laughed and shook her head. “No. I just thought it would be a bit odd if I didn’t come with flowers. I didn’t want the neighbors to think I’m a bad friend.”

“Mom wanted to cut some flowers from our backyard and give you those, but I managed to convince her to buy some.”

“Thank you, Ruby. Honestly, Sam, have some class.” Lena playfully ruffled Ruby’s hair. “And that’s why you’re my favorite.”

“It’s not like you’re actually injured and recovering as everyone thinks. Flowers are flowers.”

“Don’t say that! They can hear you, you know.” Lena put her hands around the flowers as if she was covering their ears. “Felicia says that Ivy talks to flowers, so they must be able to hear.”

Ruby nodded along. “My science teacher says that they have feelings. I always say hi to the plants in the backyard and wish them a good day.”

“You’re too pure for this world.” Maggie wiped away a fake tear.

There was another knock on the door. Jess walked in with flowers and a box of chocolates when Sam opened the door.

“Oh. It appears we all had the same idea.” Jess put the chocolates down and noticed Maggie’s card. “Did you really get her a Valentine’s card?”

The detective grinned. “Yeah. They were on sale.”

“But we’re in August? Why are they on sale?”

“You haven’t heard of the Internet Exstore?” At their blank looks, she explained: “There’s this shop by Al’s bar that sells stuff way after it’s time. Like they’ll sell Halloween decorations in February, Christmas stuff in April, stuff like that. They also sell gag items and things for pranks.”

“A prank shop by a bar? That’s a smart move,” Lena said.

Maggie went on to explain more about the shop and what gag gifts she had gotten from there. Ruby was asking about the best prank they all had ever pulled and Lena had a flashback to her, Veronica, and Andrea sitting in the principal's office sporting matching smirks, not at all regretting what they had just done. If it wasn’t for the Luthor name holding so much power, Lena was sure she’d have been kicked out from the school her first year.

Within half an hour, all the guests had arrived. When Felicia entered holding Harley’s hand with Pam right behind them, a few eyebrows went up but no one said anything. Kara was the last to arrive but she brought the food, so her tardiness was forgiven.

“So, how’s school going, Ruby?” Lena asked.

Ruby put her SunnyD down and bounced in her seat. “It’s going amazing! I’ve made a couple of friends so far. Well, I thought I had a lot but with everything that happened this week, I stopped talking to anyone who badmouthed you.”

She internally winced at that. “I thought I told you that I don’t care what people think of me. I don’t want you losing friends over me.”

“For being a CEO of two companies, you’re kind of dumb. Of  _ course, _ I’m going to drop them.” She looked to see if Lena was going to correct her. When she didn’t, the pre-teen smiled. “I’ve been doing great in English and Science. They’re my favorite subjects.”

“Follow your heart and stay focused on science. You’re going to be an amazing scientist one day, I already know it.”

“She said English and science were her favorite subjects, Fangs. Maybe she wants to follow the English route,” Maggie butted in from next to her.

Lena narrowed her eyes. “That nickname isn’t going to stick, so stop trying. I will respect her decision either way, but she has an affinity for science. She made a pair of web-shooters all by herself, you know.”

“She followed instructions. I bet I could do it too if you told me what to do.” Maggie knew she was being a little shit by instigating. But, in her defense, Harleen said Lena needed some normalcy and to not be babied.

“Are you hearing this, Jess? Maggie thinks she can excel at our beautiful craft by reading it off a paper.” She then turned back to the detective. “I wouldn’t let you near my spider stuff even if my life depended on it.”

Everyone at the table started to debate whether it took skill to be a STEM major. Things were getting heated and Ruby sort of wished she didn’t say anything.

“You know what takes real skill? Being a master thief.” Felicia set Lena, Maggie, and Sam’s phones down on the table. “English major, STEM major, blah, blah, blah. It’s not like they’re going to put that on your tombstone!”

Maggie snatched her phone back. “When the fuck did you take our phones?”

“I took Lena’s when I hugged her, your's when you bumped into me going around the table, and Sam’s when she reached over for the rice. But really, Maggie? Sexting your girlfriend while at your friend's house?” She shook her head.

“How did you? I? What?”

“Like I said. I have real skills.” Her smug smile only grew when Harley cackled and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. Kara patted Maggie on the shoulder as she tried to hide her laughter.

“What’s sexting?” Came Ruby’s innocent question.

“Maggie!” Sam hissed. Maggie leaned back and raised her hands in front of her, a look of  _ it’s not my fault! _ written all over her face.

Pam of all people decided to change the subject. “Plants do have feelings, you know. It’s very kind of you to wish them a good day, Ruby. Positive reinforcement helps them grow.”

The child latched onto the new conversation. “They really do?”

“Yes. If you encourage and compliment them, they grow strong. If you bully them, they start to droop and may even rot. So every morning, I talk to my babies and I let them know that they are important and loved.”

Harley bobbed her head up and down. “She’s right! Every mornin’ she sings to ‘em and at night, she’ll give ‘em kisses. I’ve even caught Felly talking to them sometimes.”

Felicia’s cheeks started to burn. “Harley!”

“You do?” Pam looked touched at the new information. She reached over the table and took her hand. “That’s sweet of you.”

They were so adorable, Lena thought she’d throw up. Kidding! She never got to spend time with the three of them together, so she was happy to see that they fit well with each other.

“Does grass get upset when people step on it?” Kara wondered. “Because if it does, I won’t step on it ever again. I wouldn’t want to hurt its feelings.”

And on went dinner.

Some conversations were hard to keep track of and Lena didn’t entirely mind just sitting back and listening in. She was still a bit out of it from the week’s events. Her friends picked up on that, so they didn't force her into a conversation. Sam or Maggie would occasionally ask for her opinion on a topic, but for the most part, she just vibed along. It was during dessert that Lena told them why she called for the family dinner.

“I know everyone’s been avoiding talking about what happened this week, but I promise it’s okay. I got shot by a parent, I tried to kill Edge, he tried to kill me, etc.,” she deadpanned. “And since I’m practically on house arrest, I’m going to Earth-1 to help the Legends with a problem and get away for a while.”

Ruby was the first to break the silence when she asked, “What are the Legends?”

“They’re a group of superheroes who travel through time and space to keep the timeline in check.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. “No way! Can I come? That sounds so cool!”

“No, you have school,” Sam reminded her daughter.

“But mom!” She whined. “Time travel! Through space!”

Jess frowned. “How long are you going to be gone? What if we need you?”

“Sam is in charge of L-Corp and James is in charge of CatCo until further notice, so no one should need me for any executive decisions. My cell phone does work over there, though, so we’ll be able to keep in touch. As for how long I’ll be gone, less than a week hopefully.”

Earlier that morning she, Kara, and Sara had talked on the phone and tried to figure out details. The ordeal with Mallus would hopefully only take about a day or two then they’d hang out for a couple of days. Lena was also planning on taking a day to hang out with Cisco and Felicity to catch up since their texts weren’t as often as they were before.

“Wait. I’m lost. There is more than one Earth?” Felicia was perplexed by this information. So were Pam and Harley.

“That’s right, you don’t know about that! The whole multiverse theory is true. I know, right?” Kara nodded to Pam’s shocked expression. “I found out by accident, really. It all started when a metahuman from Earth-1 named The Flash accidentally ran too fast and ended up here…”

Pam and Felicia listened with rapt attention as Kara retold the events. Harley was just as fascinated, and she kept interrupting to ask questions. As Kara talked, Ruby asked Lena questions about the heroes since she didn’t want to interrupt the alien.

“So, The Flash was struck by lightning and now he’s the fastest man alive?”

Seeing the glint in her eye, Lena squashed the hope in them. “Regular lightning won’t give you powers, Ruby. It was the particle accelerator explosion that gifted them to him.”

She didn’t let that deter her. “But The Green Arrow and The White Canary are vigilantes who don’t have powers, right? To fight crime, all you need to know is some parkour and basic fighting skills. I can totally do that.”

Lena and Sam looked at each other at the same time with matching exasperated expressions.

“That is so not right. The Green Arrow and White Canary went through extensive training from deadly assassins. And they’re adults who understand what they're sacrificing to protect their city. National City doesn’t need another vigilante. Kara and I have it covered.”

Ruby crossed her arms. “Just say you’re homophobic and go.”

“I-?” The people turned to look at a pouting Ruby.

“Did you just come out or was it for the meme?” Sam asked.

Ruby seemed to realize her mistake. “Oh, I guess both? I’m not sure yet. I trust you mom, but I didn’t want to say anything until I had a label I was comfortable with.”

“Psh, labels are overrated. You just feel comfortable being you, okay honey? You want more ice cream?” Sam tucked a lock of Ruby’s hair behind her ear. “I love you so much, baby.”

“I love you too, Mom.” The pre-teen was embarrassed by the whole thing. Don’t you just hate outing yourself through jokes? (I’ve done it at least three times)

“Straight people scare me,” Maggie admitted.

Felicia snorted and some water went up her nose. “You’ve met Harry before, right? He’s straight.”

“I said what I said.” Sam sent her a sharp look. “I know he’s your boyfriend, but I don’t know, Sam. He just gives me weird vibes. And his dad is totally creepy.”

“Leave Harry alone, Maggie. But I will agree that Norman fails the vibe check. Hell, even Fisk refuses to work with him. Norman always goes on and on about how much better Lex is and how disappointed he is in me for not being like my brother.”

Lena didn’t even want to think of what would’ve happened if Norman and Lex had become friends earlier. They were both snakes who no doubt would’ve come up with a more destructive idea to kill Superman.

“Not to mention how creepy it was that he kept trying to set you and Harry up. We have a threesome one time and suddenly Osborn thinks you’re straight and will marry Harry.” Felicia shook her head disbelievingly. “The audacity.”

“I’m sorry, y-you what?” Kara stammered.

“It was college, we were experimenting. Felicia asked as a joke one time when we were drunk. Harry laughed and said he’d be down if I was comfortable with it and he got to wear socks the whole time. We promised to never bring it up afterwards.” Lena gave the Black Cat an accusatory look.

“No wonder you’re so good with us both!” Harley exclaimed.

“I don’t even know what to say to that.” Sam stared out the window as she contemplated her life.

Ruby clapped her hands over her ears. “I now understand why there are kid’s tables at parties. Can I watch T.V in your room while you guys talk?”

“Of course. I have some papers hanging from the ceiling so be careful on your way in.”

The adults watched the child walk away. When the door closed, they started laughing.

“Maybe next time she can invite a friend so she’s not so lonely. Has she mentioned a best friend yet?” School hadn’t been going on for long, but Ruby was a social butterfly. She had to have at least one friend.

Sam pulled out her phone. “I write everything down, give me a second.” She opened her notes and looked at the one she was keeping about Ruby. “She has a friend named Cindy Moon in homeroom and they have math together. They like to spill the tea. Then, there is Miles who’s in her history class and they have lunch together sometimes. And last but not least is her friend Storm who she has science with. Ruby helps them in that class since she’s so ahead.”

Harley clapped her hands together. “What a doll! I’m so proud of her for making friends so fast.”

“What can I say, she got all my good genes.” Sam tucked her phone back in her pocket so Felicia wouldn’t swipe it again.

“You know, I didn’t want kids. But that squirt came along and changed my mind. And after taking care of Lena, I think I could handle one.” The detective turned and beamed at the metahuman.

“Oh most definitely,” Jess chimed in. “Cleaning bullet wounds, changing diapers, what’s the difference?”

Lena crossed her arms. “Laugh it up. But when you’re struggling with a baby, don’t come looking to me for help.”

“I would love to babysit your and Alex’s baby! I can take them on flights! Aww, I can just imagine it,” Kara cooed.

“We’re getting a little too ahead of ourselves. We’re not even married yet!”

An emergency got called in and Lena offered to go take care of it. She needed some fresh air and she wanted to get some ass-kicking in before she left. She went into her room and looked through her closet for a suit. Ruby completely ignored her, too engrossed in a show with a talking cat person and a blonde jock. The advanced suit was shoved in between her black clothes. Lena wiggled into it and swung out her window.

Spider-Woman flipped onto the roof and looked down below. Two gangs - the Maggia and Bloods - were having a shootout. Gunshots were echoing in the alleyways and stray bullets were penetrating the walls of the nearby buildings. She really picked the wrong suit for this.

“Ready, Hope?”

“Web-Shooters are at 100% capacity and I will be ready to change the fluid on command. Ready when you are, Boss.”

“That’s my girl.” Lena scooted back some then ran off the building and landed in the middle of the shootings. “You know, it’d be a lot cooler if you made sound effects as you shot.”

“Great. She’s in a talking mood tonight. Get her boys!” The leader of the Maggia gang demanded. The guns turned to her.

The Spider jumped up to dodge the first volley of bullets. “I’m serious! Watch. Pew-” she shot a web to cover someone’s eyes- “Pew-” another web to his crotch- “Pew!” The man tumbled to the floor. “That was actually really satisfying.”

She heard a growl come from behind her just as her Spider-Sense went off. She grabbed the thug’s fist and flipped him over her shoulder, webbing him to the ground.

“You don’t know what you’re messing with, Spider. This is between them and us.”

The Bloods had given up shooting and were now in a fistfight with the Maggia. “Yeah, yeah. Impact Web.” The man was shot directly into the wall and Lena winced when she heard something crack. She sincerely hoped it was just his ribs. “Hope, make sure the ambulance is on their way. Actually, a couple.”

The Web-Slinger darted in between the gang members flawlessly as if she were weaving a web. She’d occasionally call for an impact web (this time being careful where she lined up the body) or rapid-fire to distract multiple people. Her Spider-Sense was on high alert which helped her slide beneath punches or bullets or flip out of the way of danger. She used her electric powers as a shield so no one would be able to touch her. Within minutes, all people were either knocked out or webbed in uncomfortable positions.

Lena waited for the police and ambulances to arrive. Thanks to Hope’s X-Ray vision, she could tell who was badly injured. She made sure they got cared for first. Normally she’d leave the police to dig the criminals out of her webbing, but she decided to help them since she didn’t want to go back quite yet.

“Thank you, Spidey.” Officer Gonzalez slapped her back in a friendly gesture. “Everyone’s been real rowdy all of a sudden. We’re thinking there’s going to be a full-on gang war soon.”

The lenses in the mask widened. “Maggie hasn’t told me anything about that.”

“I mean, there isn’t a lot of evidence to suggest it. There’s only been a couple of breakouts like this one, but I feel it coming.” She leaned in close so no one else could hear her whisper, “Happened in Metropolis when Fisk was there. It isn’t that much a jump to think he’s trying to build his empire here now.”

“I think you’re right. You should see if Yuri and Chloe can find a pattern in what Fisk is doing. Keep it down low and make sure Maggie keeps me updated.”

“Will do. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

“Bug out.” Spidey gave a two-finger salute then launched herself into the air. She swung to her house and noticed it was a bit chillier than usual. Her suit had some tears in it from where bullets grazed her but no actual gunshot wounds. She couldn’t remember the last time that happened.

When she made it back home, the adults were in the living room chatting. Lena climbed to the side of her house and let herself into the window near them.

“That was quick. How’d it go, babe?” Kara stood up to check over her girlfriend. “You… You didn’t get shot,” she observed in amazement.

Sam, Maggie, and Jess scurried over to see for themselves. Lena proudly extended her arms and turned in a circle. The blood from her grazes was already drying.

“I can’t believe it,” Jess gasped. “For once, you were actually careful.”

Lena scoffed as she removed her gloves and mask. “I’ll have you know, I’m a professional scientist. I am plenty careful.” She chanced a glance at her girlfriend. “I also may have come to the realization that while I’m in the field, I should use my genius brain to avoid being hurt.”

“Yes! That’s my girl!” Harley squealed. She squeezed Lena in a hug. “Keep up the good work, Itsy Bitsy, and I’ll give you a golden sticker.”

“You get stickers? Can I get a sticker?” Felicia looked at her girlfriend.

“They’re for my patients, silly.” Harley ran her finger up and down Felicia’s arm. “I could give you something much better than stickers.”

“Okayyy.” Ivy stood up and pushed her girlfriends away from each other. “I think that’s our cue to go. Thank you for having us over, Lena. Good luck with the other Earth.”

“Yeah, we should probably get going too. I promised Ruby we wouldn’t stay too late since she has a game in the morning.”

“Everyone’s leaving, so I’ll skedaddle too. Alex should be home soon, anyway. Do you want a ride, Jess?”

“That depends. Did you bring your motorcycle?”

Maggie shrugged on her leather jacket. “If you close your eyes, you can pretend it’s a rollercoaster! I have never crashed with a passenger before, you’re good.”

That didn’t make Jess feel any better. Sam offered to drop the lab technician off since it was on her way home anyway. They all said their goodbyes and when the house was empty beside them two, Lena collapsed onto the couch.

“Do you need me to do anything for you?”

“No, no. I’ll get up in a couple of minutes to shower before bed.” Kara floated over and wordlessly held Lena in her arms. The brunette reveled in the safety Kara gave her. “Have you noticed any restlessness with the mafia lately?”

“No. I haven’t really been paying attention to human conflicts as Supergirl since I leave that for Spider-Woman. As a journalist, I haven’t heard anything either. Has something happened?”

“There are signs pointing to the start of a gang war according to one of the police officers. If that’s true, it would not be good for National City. With the number of aliens we’re getting, they might be kidnapped and exploited just as Roulette did. Not to mention the metahumans that seem to be popping up.”

“You’re worried about leaving.” Kara noticed.

“I guess I am,” she chuckled.

Lena usually had no problem leaving the city. She could go to Seattle or Washington or anywhere in the world and not worry. So why was she nervous all of a sudden?

“I’ll keep our city protected, my love. I promise.” One look at Kara’s fierce blue eyes and most of her nerves dissipated.

“I trust you will. Now, if I don’t get up and shower, I will fall asleep like this.” Lena gently tugged at Kara’s hands that were clasped in front of her torso.

The alien rested her head on Lena’s shoulder. “I don’t see a problem with this. I’m very comfortable.”

“Kara,” she laughed. “The sooner I shower, the sooner I’ll be in bed. And I may accidentally forget to get my clothes, so I’ll be naked in my bedroom with you. Who knows-”

“You’ve convinced me.” Kara let go and kissed the top of Lena’s head. “While you’re showering, I’ll pack your bag.”

“I love you. So much.”

“I love you too. So much.”

The metahuman kissed Kara soundly on the lips then went straight to the bathroom so she could wash the grime off her. It’d be her last shower in her house for a couple of days. She wondered what the shower was like on the Waverider. Did the Waverider have a shower?

-

Lena put her suit on and made sure that her backup suit - the Iron Spider - would activate if she needed the extra hands. Once she was ready, she walked downstairs into the living room.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Kara asked for the hundredth time.

  
“Yes, I’m sure. The city needs Supergirl. I can’t do much as Lena Luthor right now since she’s supposed to be resting and I can’t be Spider-Woman all the time. All we’re going to do is kick a demon’s ass and then hang out. You know my phone works there, so we can talk every day as normal.” Lena cupped the side of Kara’s face and ran a gloved thumb over her cheek. “I promise I’ll be careful.”

“Okay.” She bit her lip and looked at her girlfriend with worried eyes. “You pinkie promise?”

A small giggle escaped Lena’s lips. Her hand dropped from Kara’s face to her hand. She interlocked their pinkies.

“I pinky promise I’ll be careful and I won’t put myself in unnecessary danger. And, Hope’s got my back, don’t you, baby?”

“Always, Boss.”

“Hey, always is our thing!” Kara mock glared at the ceiling. “She’s my girlfriend, not yours.”

The lights brightened then flickered to emulate laughter. “Of course. Or would ‘your future wife’ be more accurate?”

The alien blushed and spluttered for words. Lena decided to take pity on her. “All right you two, that’s enough of that. I’ve got to get going, I told Cisco I would be there soon.”

“Okay,” she relented. “Tell everyone I said hi!”

“Will do. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Lena went in for a deep kiss knowing she wouldn’t get one in a while. Once satisfied, she slipped the mask on and jumped into the portal.

The swirling vortex brought her to the top of a random building. She scanned the city until she found S.T.A.R Labs off in the distance. Lena took a second to take a deep breath and enjoy the smell of Earth-1. It had a slightly different smell than her home planet. It was almost… sweeter, in a way.

When she was ready, she backflipped off the building - startling a couple who were on their balcony - and started swinging to the Flash’s secret hideout. Spider-Woman swung close to the ground and waved at the people on the streets. Most people ignored her, but she did get some waves and high-fives in return.

As she approached the doors, Barry sped out to meet her.

“Barry! It’s so nice to see you again!”

“Right back at you!” They fist-bumped each other. “Kara didn’t come with you?”

“No. Someone has to protect National City while I’m gone. She does say hi, though.” They walked through the hallway and talked about what was new with each other. “Hey, Cisco.”

“If it isn’t my favorite spider!” Cisco and Lena did their secret handshake for the very first time. They, plus Felicity, had been coming up with one for a while in the group chat. It was long and complex but they got it perfect.

“Where’s the Mrs.?” Lena didn’t hear anybody else in the building. “Actually, where is everyone?”

“Iris is at work. Caitlin is Killer Frost right now, I think, and she’s at a bar. We have a new ally - a metahuman named Ralph - but he’s on patrol right now.”

“I see. Hopefully, they’ll be here when I return so I can say hello.” She turned to her fellow science nerd. “Are you ready?”

“Always.” Cisco closed his eyes to concentrate and held Lena’s gloved hand. “Help me envision the Waverider. They’re in the temporal zone, so it’s a bit harder to get a clear image.”

“Okay.”

Both metahumans thought about their last time on the ship nearly six months ago. Cisco focused on the mechanics of the ship while Lena thought of the people and how it felt to steer it. The air started to ripple. Two people were arguing in the captain's quarters. She walked closer to listen in.

“I want your best people working on this,” a woman Lena didn’t recognize said.

She saw Sara cross her arms. “The Legends are the best people I’ve got!”

“You’re saying you don’t have anyone else besides them to help you?” The tall blonde woman scoffed.

Lena knew that was her cue to enter. “Thank you for the lift, Cisco. I’ll see you two later.” She waved Cisco and Barry goodbye then got ready to jump through.

“It’s not like someone is just going to appear in the middle of the ship!”

In a puff of black smoke, Lena Luthor in her Spider-Woman suit dropped in between the two women.

“You called?” Lena interjected.

Some of the tension in Sara’s shoulders disappeared and a broad smile replaced her frown. “Lena Luthor. I think we have a fighting chance now.” She opened her arms for a hug. “Woah, have you been working out? You’re way more solid than I remember.”

Lena flexed her arm since she had a good idea who the other woman was. “Yeah. I got a new power, so that must be it. This one isn’t as fun in the bedroom as the other ones.”

“Are you sure? I-”

The pantsuit lady cleared her throat. “Are you two done flirting? We’re sort of in the middle of something.”

“Oh, my bad. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Sara. I’m Lena, but you can call me Spider-Woman or Spidey for short.” She offered her hand for a handshake. Ava eyed it warily.

“So you’re the spider vigilante.” Ava studied the woman. She was shorter than the pictures made it seem. “I didn’t know you and Sara were… well acquainted.”

“Oh, they’re acquainted all right,” Zari snickered. “Nice having you aboard again, Lena.”

Lea stepped into the main room and waved. “Hey, Zari. Where’s Nate and Ray? And who’s this?”

Sara joined her by the console. “That is Rip Hunter, the man who started the Legends. Nate and Amaya are in 1942 Zambesi. We just finished saving Barack Obama from a killer monkey named Grodd. Damien Darhk, the man I told you about, showed up so Mick and Ray are watching him as our prisoner.”

“Who’s Barack Obama? And a killer monkey named Grodd?”

“You don’t know who Barack Obama is?” Rip questioned. He looked offended by the information. “What kind of world are you living in?”

“Wait-” Zari put her hand up and looked to Lena - “If your Earth doesn’t have Barack Obama, do you not have Donald Trump either?”

Lena couldn’t recall any important figures by those names. Hope dimmed the lenses which meant she came up empty-handed as well.

“We don’t have those people on my Earth.”

Zari’s jaw dropped in shock. “You’re  _ so _ lucky. In 2020, Trump was elected for another term and in 2021 he worked with a covert government group to turn the United States into a dictatorship. He banned all religion and rounded up all the metahumans he could find. There were prisons built and there they would experiment and torture metahumans so they could try to find a way to give the military superpowers.”

“That’s awful. No other countries stepped in to intervene? What about England or-”

“We’re in the middle of a crisis right now,” Sara’s ex snapped. “We need to take Darhk to the Time Bureau and deal with Mallus.”

“No,” Sara said sternly. “As much as I hate to say this, we need to work with Darhk. He knows what Mallus’ plans are, he could know some weaknesses. He stays here.”

Spider-Woman stepped next to her friend. "I agree with Sara. I don’t trust a government operation to deal with this.”

“That’s my Spider!” They high-fived each other. “Ava, please just give our plan a chance.” Ava didn’t look happy, but she didn’t outright say no. “Great. Lena, stay here in case anyone comes back. You can connect your comms to ours.”

“Will do, Captain.”

Spider-Woman looked out the window into the temporal zone. The temporal zone wasn’t a location, exactly, it was like a version of outer space where time didn’t exist. From what she understood, while in the temporal zone, one was exempt from the changes that were being made to the timeline, which helped the Legends figure out how to fix the timeline when things went askew.

Lena  _ was _ a bit curious as to how exactly the whole time-traveling thing worked. She knew the temporal zone was the key to doing it, but how did it work? Were there rules to it? There had to have been. She noticed a couple of holes that looked like tunnels. They probably used those to travel to different periods of time. Though, Lena didn’t doubt the Legends had free run through the zone before as Han Solo did in his famous Kessel Run.

“Hey, Spider-Woman!” Ray’s greeting cut her from her thoughts. “It’s nice having you for backup.”

“Hey, Ray! I’m happy to help the Legends out whenever possible.” Ray opened his arms for a hug which Lena gladly accepted. From over his shoulder, she saw who must’ve been Damien Darhk.

When Lena pulled back from the hug, she took a second to observe the man. He was a couple of inches taller than her, dressed in all black, which contrasted starkly with his blonde hair, and he had a pinched face as if he had smelled something foul. She squinted her eyes to filter less light in. He could honestly pass as an older Draco Malfoy with the aesthetic he had going on.

Darhk looked Spider-Woman up and down with a displeased frown. “So who is this spider… freak?”

Lena tilted her head and further narrowed the lenses at him. He held his hands up in surrender.

“Focus, Damien,” Sara reprimanded. “How do we capture your demon daughter?

Rip raised his hand. “Um, if we coordinate a strike between the Legends and the Time Bureau, we might have a chance to take her down.”

“How did that work for you in Victorian London? Besides, my little angel’s only gotten more powerful since.” They had traveled to Victorian London? She wondered if it was beautiful. Had they met anyone famous?

“What if we just ask Nora nicely? I did have a bit of a connection with her in Berlin.” Ray’s smile faltered when Darhk growled at him. “Not that kind.”

Berlin? She had a feeling he meant the Berlin Wall. Lena wasn’t a history buff of any kind, but that was a well-known monument in history. Unless Earth-1 had a slightly different version of events?  _ Focus _ , she reminded herself.

“Maybe she’ll listen to you since you’re her father?” The Web-Head tried.

He shook his head. “Not anymore. Nora only listens to Mallus now. He’s always in her ear.”

Ray snapped his fingers. “That’s it! What if I got inside Nora?” Damien growled again. “Not like that! What if I shrunk down, flew into her ear, and pretended to be Mallus?”

A moment of contemplation passed. Lena didn’t know anything about Nora or Mallus the demon but she trusted the plan, no matter how ridiculous it sounded.

“Okay, new guy on the team here. Is that a joke plan or a real plan?” Damien asked.

When no one said anything, Ava face-palmed. “We are so screwed.”

“No, this could work. We just have to convince her that it’s actually Mallus talking,” Rip said.

The T.V.’s volume in the captain quarters turned up. “ _ This is how you would serve your city? You would risk its utter ruin _ .”

They all turned to the T.V. This earth had Lord of the Rings, too? It was pretty iconic, so she shouldn’t have been that surprised.

“Woah, the vocal similarity to Mallus is uncanny,” Ray pointed out.

Sara nodded. “Gideon? Who is that actor? And how can we get him without dealing with his agent?”

“That would be John Noble. And...”

A demon that sounded like John Noble? She genuinely couldn’t tell if they were reaching or if they were serious.

“Okay, then that’s settled. Ray, go make a script. When you’re ready, we’ll take you to get him to say the lines. For now, let’s take a break.”

The group broke off to go their separate ways. Lena gravitated towards Sara.

“So tell me more about this Mallus demon. I’m assuming we can’t throw some holy water on it, say an exorcism, and send it back to hell? Do you have a magical gun that we shoot it with?”

“Someone’s been watching Supernatural.” Sara nudged the Spider with her shoulder. “Let’s have a drink and I’ll fill you in.”

“Supernatural is on this earth too? I didn’t think you’d understand the reference.”

Sara gestured for her to sit down as she poured two glasses of whiskey. Lena took off her mask and breathed in the fresh air of the Waverider, blinking a few times to get used to the bright lights.

“We don’t know much about Mallus except that he's a time demon. I have a friend who’s a master of the Dark Arts and he told us that these magical totems are the key to defeating Mallus. I don’t know how to use them or what we’re supposed to do, but it’s the only shot we have.”

“I see.” Lena swirled her cup and took a whiff of the alcohol. It smelled more bitter than she was used to. “And Darhk? Can we trust him?”

“Not for a second. You know how I told you he killed my sister, Laurel? Well, he also groomed his daughter to become a willing vessel for Mallus. While we’ve been trying to fix anachronisms and the timeline, the Darhks have been messing with time to distract us while they searched for the totems as well. He commits mass murder without blinking, and we haven’t had the chance to kill him since he’s a skilled warlock and we’re, well, us.” Sara finished her glass and went to refill it. “Want more?”

“No, thank you.” As Lena downed her glass, the hairs on the back of her neck stood at the sour taste. “When this is all over, I’ll be sure to web him up so you can kill him.”

Sara snorted. “Thanks, Spidey.”

“You’re welcome. So what’s the deal with you and Ava? She found out she’s a clone and you two broke up?”

The assassin pursed her lips. “Not exactly. I broke up with her before we found out, the clone thing just added an extra layer of crap. I think she’s been working overtime so she doesn’t have to deal with it.”

“That’s something I know a thing or two about. At some point, you should talk to her and tell her that you care about her. She’s probably really confused and unsure if she matters.”

“Yeah. Now, let’s talk about you. You were framed for poisoning children? How did that happen?”

Lena told Sara what happened and gave her some highlights of the villains she had faced recently.

“Sounds like you’ve been as busy as we have. And for the record, good on you for not killing that bastard. I would have and I wouldn’t have thought twice about it.”

“I know.” Lena chuckled.

“And Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy? Really? On this earth, Harley Quinn was devoted to the Joker. When Batman murdered him, she went insane. She’s nothing but a shell in Arkham. I think Poison Ivy is there, too, but she keeps a low profile.”

“Batman killed him? I thought he had a code?”

“Everyone has their limits.”

A blur of yellow light zoomed past them. Lena shoved her mask back on and stood up, ready to fight, but was stopped by Sara.

“That’s Wally West. Remember him from the wedding?”

Once the light stopped and the boy faced them, Lena remembered. He was Iris’ little brother.

“Oh, yes. What is he doing here?”

“Sara, I called a meeting. Stuff in Zambesi is not going as planned,” he rushed out with wide eyes.

“Oh, boy. Come on.”

The three heroes waited around the center console for everyone else. Once the important people were there, Wally launched into his story.

“...I tried to reason with them, but they just won’t listen,” he concluded. “Amaya is dead set on saving her village. And Nate? He’s just too in love with her to see reason.”

Sara pressed the comm in her ear. “Zari, please tell me that you found a loophole that allows for Amaya to save her village.”

Zari’s response played through the speakers. “There is no loophole. I’ve tried billions of variations, but this event has too many ripple effects. The village has to be destroyed or Mallus is freed.”

Rip’s face fell. “So we’re all doomed.”

Sara looked at her team. She couldn’t let this fight end here. They were the only ones who would be able to stop Mallus so they had to find a way. Even if she didn’t believe it could work, it was their only hope.

“What if we’re not?” She grabbed the Death Totem. “We have the six totems, the only thing that Mallus is afraid of. But you can’t fight what you can’t see. What if the only way to kill Mallus is to let him out?”

“Are you really suggesting that we allow Mallus to escape because you have a collection of magical stones?” Ava knew the Legends had outlandish plans, but this one was the  _ stupidest _ she’s heard so far. And that was saying something.

Sara stood taller and squared her shoulders as she explained, “We have two choices: we fight Amaya or we fight Mallus. And I know it sounds crazy to let a time demon out, but it’s a hell of a lot easier to stomach than turning on a friend.”

“Okay, yes, but didn’t the original totem bearers try and face Mallus and blow it?” Wally asked.

“Constantine said the only reason they couldn’t kill Mallus was because the Death Totem betrayed them. And that’s not going to happen this time.”

"How can you be so sure? I needn’t remind you what happened the last time you tried to wield it.” Rip gave her a pointed look.

Okay, Lena was officially starting to get lost with the conversation. Sara mentioned that they had the totems, but not that the plan had failed in the past. She wasn’t sure how well this plan was going to go. Shouldn’t they have a practice run first to get an idea of what they were going to do?

“She won’t have to wield it. I will.” All eyes went to Damien. “The Death Totem was attracted to Captain Lance because of a unique quality we both share: we were both brought back from the dead. Plus, I have a personal stake in wanting to send Mallus straight to Hell. He took my little girl.”

“True as that may be, there is no chance Captain Lance would trust you with such a dangerous weapon.” Rip crossed his arms in defiance.

Sara threw the Death Totem to Darhk without a second thought. “Death Totem’s all yours.”

“Sara, you can’t be serious!” Ava exclaimed.

“Ava, we don’t have a choice.”

“Our only choice is to stop Amaya and stop the anachronisms. This is insanity,” the Director argued.

“Insane is what we do best, Ava.”

Ava’s eye twitched in anger. "I will not condone this behavior and the Bureau certainly does not stand behind you. Rip let's go, we have work to do."

Rip Hunter, for all his flaws, didn’t move. He donned a guilty expression and said, "Remember when I told you that we would need the Legends before this was through? Perhaps it is time that we set aside the scalpel and let them be the chainsaw."

Ava crossed her arms and searched everyone’s expression. It was clear they were going to go against her even though their plan was reckless and unorthodox.

"I will consider this your resignation." Then, just like that, the Director of the Time Bureau turned to leave.

“Ava! Ava, wait!” Sara chased after Ava.

“So, we’re going to let a time demon out of its cage and fight it with magical totems that no one knows how to use?” Lena clarified.

“Sounds about right,” Wally confirmed.

“Okay. What about Nate and Amaya? Shouldn’t we pick them up and tell them about the plan?”

Wally shrugged. “I’m just sort of going with the flow here.”

“Captain Lance agrees with your suggestion, Spider-Woman, and asks for you to pick them up.”

Lena furrowed her eyebrows. “I’ve never flown the Waverider through time. Is it similar to flying it normally?”

“No idea. Good luck, Spidey, I’m going to strap myself in. I’m sure this is going to be a rocky landing.” Wally patted her shoulder then sat down, bringing the guard securely down over his chest.

She walked over to the captain’s seat and sat down, strapping herself in as she did so. The controls looked exactly as they had the last time she flew it but now she was conscious of the extra buttons.

“I believe in you, Boss,” Hope spoke from inside her mask

Lena started the ship, inputted the place and year, then flew off into a tunnel that had opened up ahead. She steered the ship to stay in center until it finally opened up to the blue sky. Since the Waverider was speeding through the Temporal Zone, Lena had trouble breaking and parking. The houses neared as she stepped on the breaks. The spaceship skidded a few feet before it stopped completely. Lena slowly raised the ship so the landing gear could come out.

Wally wobbled to his feet once the ship was completely still. “I need a second before going to retrieve them. That was a little more rocky than I’m used to.”

“What the hell was that?” Damien Darhk stumbled into the room. “Are we under attack?”

“That was my first time going through time, I haven’t mastered the landing yet. We’re picking up everyone so we can talk about our plan.” Spider-Woman lifted the safeguard from her chest and smiled behind her mask. She had just done that!

“You have permission to fly the Waverider? Who are you again?”

Lena decided to humor him. “I’m Spider-Woman. I would say it’s nice to meet you, but it’s actually not.”

“Spider-Woman?” Damien was confused as the name didn’t ring any bells. “I’ve never heard of you and I’ve time-traveled to almost every era.”

“You don’t have to concern yourself with me.” She heard footsteps nearing the room. “Nate! Amaya! It’s nice seeing you two again.”

Nate pulled Lena into a bro-hug. “Hey, Spidey! Not to be rude, but what’s going on, and why are you here? Wally just whisked us away. We’re not going to leave the village undefended.”

“You’re not going to have to.” Sara walked in with a determined look on her face. “We’re going to help you protect the village. We’re going to set Mallus free and use the totems to defeat him once and for all.”

Amaya’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh, okay. So, who gets the Earth and Water Totem?”

“Well, as a man of steel, which is an element, I always felt a strong connection to the earth,” Nate hinted.

“Actually, steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, not an element,” Ray corrected as he entered the bridge.

Nate continued on, “Also, I’ve watched every episode of “Planet Earth” on Blu-Ray and I was only stoned all the time. Can I please just have the damn totem?” Sara threw it to him. “Thank you. Now, who gets water?”

“Did you know that water is really powerful? We are made up of 60% water! And-”

“Give him the totem,” Zari cut Ray off.

“Oh, I wasn’t pitching for one -” Ray tried.

“Just take the totem!” Sara threw it at him.

“Okay, so how does this work? Is there an instruction manual? A YouTube video?” Nate turned the stone in his hand but didn’t feel any power from it.

“You better figure it out.” Damien pointed out the window, into the distance. “Warlords are coming and that means Mallus is about to make his debut.”

“Okay. We’re going in. Everyone on me. Lena, you find Esi, she’s going to be the one fighting off the warlords. Help her and, when the time comes, make sure no one is hurt in the crossfire.”

“Aye, aye, Captain Lance.”

Lena thought it’d feel different being in the past, but there wasn’t a difference at all. The air was a bit crisper but that was the only thing she noticed. She scanned for life and went to the lone figure that was standing in the way of the warlords.

“Hello, Esi. My name is Spider-Woman and I’m here to help you out.”

“Nice to meet you. I’ll stampede through them and what’s left is for you to deal with.”

Esi clicked the totem on her chest - that was similar to Amaya’s, Lena noticed - and a silhouette of a rhino glowed around her. She ran towards the men and the rhino knocked them to the side. 

Spider-Woman shot her webs to disarm and when she got close, she knocked the men out easily. They were almost done when they heard a roar.

“What the hell was that?”

A house was crushed and people were yelling. A giant gorilla crashed through another one and banged its chest when it saw them. Lena activated her comms.

“Sara, I think Grodd escaped.”

“Oh, yeah. Darhk released him. Be careful, he has telepathic powers!”

Sara was grunting so Lena assumed she was having a fight of her own. Esi charged Grodd with a gorilla of her own. She was swatted to the side as if she were a fly.

“Looks like it’s my turn.” Lena sprinted to the animal and jumped up to avoid being swiped away. “Woah, calm down. Would you feel better if I gave you a banana?” She squirted a goop of her webs in his eyes and kicked off his head.

“Do not insult me, puny human!” That felt weird having him speak in her head.

Grodd grabbed her by her leg and attempted to throw her but Lena used her powers to stick to him. He kept shaking her so she used her electric powers to zap him.

“Spider-Woman!” Nate yelled. “Jump out of the way, I’ve got this!”

She backflipped out of the way and watched Nate send a wave of earth. Grodd went flying into the distance.

“Nice.” They fist-bumped each other. A giant figure flew into the air. It had massive wings and … horns? “Uh oh. We better get over there.”

The two heroes sprinted to the rest of the team. Dirt was flying everywhere as the demon flapped its massive, leathery wings.

“My name is Malice, you fools. Hand over the totems or I will lay waste to your world,” Mallus - or Malice - demanded.

_ Huh _ , Lena thought,  _ it really does sound like John Noble _ .

“You want the totems? Come and get them,” Amaya challenged.

Nate sent a wave of dirt to Mallus as Zari shot wind. Amaya charged with a hippo but she was easily avoided. Ray was having trouble with the water and Mick’s fire wasn't doing anything. Lena felt like she was shooting her webs into the abyss. When Amaya was thrown into the side of a building, Sara realized they weren’t going to win.

“Alright, everyone fall back! Rip, we’re gonna need an evac. We’re in over our heads here. Wally, create a distraction.”

“Got it.” Wally ran to the demon and used his speed to keep its attention off them.

Lena picked Amaya up and carried her in a fireman’s hold to the ship. A bridal carry felt a little too personal and at least in that hold, she could still shoot webs if she had to.

“I’m starting to think that letting Mallus out of his cage was a bad idea,” Nate yelled over the chaos.

“It’s too late to do anything about it.” Lena ran into the ship and followed Hope’s instructions to the medbay.

She laid Amaya on the bed and watched the blue light scan her body.

“It appears she has a concussion and some internal bleeding, but it’s nothing I can’t fix,” Gideon reported.

“Could’ve been worse.” Lena took her mask off. Amaya’s body had a few cuts up and down her arms from the fall.

The ship flew out of Zambesi, that much Lena could feel. She didn’t have a close relationship with any of the Legend besides Sara, but she felt worried for them regardless. The demon was nothing Lena could’ve imagined. Could they really defeat something of that stature?

“Hey.” Nate walked in and sat next to Lena. “How is she?”

“She has a concussion but Gideon said she’d fix her right up. What happened? Where are we going?”

Nate licked his lips as he averted his eyes to his lap where his hands were clasped in front of him. “Rip sacrificed his life to buy us some time. We’re going to Salvation, North Dakota 1874. The Wild West. It’s kind of like a temporal blind spot, so we’re going to hide there for some time. If you want to go, meet Sara and the others in the fabrication room. I’ll stay here and watch over Amaya.”

“The Wild West you say?” Lena got up and followed Gideon’s instructions to the fabrication room. “Woah, what are you guys doing?”

Sara threw an outfit to Zari. “We’re dressing up so we can blend in with the locals. You coming?”

“I will never pass up an offer to be in a different time period. Do I get a cool cowboy hat, too?”

Gideon fabricated a cowboy outfit for her which consisted of black cowboy boots, dark brown slacks, a red button-down, a white vest with a pocket watch, a belt with two holsters for guns, a black coat, and a black cowboy hat to top it off.

“Oh, I can’t wait to try this on.”

Lena changed into the cowboy outfit, deciding to forgo the spider suit, and did a small twirl in the mirror. As Ruby would say, she looked lit.

The girls walked outside to meet the boys who had changed before them.

Wally grabbed the lapels of his coat and tugged it tighter around himself. “Yo, this is tight. I know everyone’s dead. I know time is broken. But can we just take a second to acknowledge this?”

“Right?” Lena agreed. “I wonder how the fabrication machine works, the material is amazing!”

“You know, as much as I enjoy this getup, and I actually really do - Mallus is still out there,” Zari reminded.

Lena quirked an eyebrow at her. Weren’t the Legends experts on having fun while being in life or death situations? Well, Zari was new to the team so it’d make sense as to why she would take a time demon who could destroy the Earth seriously. Lena wasn’t sure if she had any good demon puns ready.

“And we’ll deal with him,” Sara promised, “but first, we need to get our heads on straight.” 

“How long is that going to take?” Zari asked.

“Depends,” Mick said.

“On what?”

“How strong the whiskey is.”

They entered a saloon. Lena tried to act normal, but everything was so fascinating to her. She was actually in the year 1874. Everything surrounding her, everything she was experiencing, was literally in the past. She was living history on a different Earth. Nothing she has ever done will ever top that experience.

Sara ordered a round for everyone. The alcohol was extremely sweet and a little sour, but Lena drank every shot - one for herself and one for each of her friends on her home planet. Woah, home planet. She was literally an alien!

Sara’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “So we know the six totems are the only thing that can stop Mallus.”

“They weren’t much use to us last time,” Wally wallowed.

“‘Us’ being the keyword.” The captain turned to Zari. “You and Amaya were born to wield the totems, and the rest of us are just-”

Mick slammed his shot glass down. “Losers. That’s why Rip picked us - Snart, the Professor, those stupid hawk flying-chicken people. We’re all expendable.”

“Maybe so. And it’s not like any of these unwashed hayseeds are righteous totem bearers.”

“Who you calling a hayseed?” A gruff voice called out. Everyone turned to see a tall cowboy with a scarred face walk towards them.

Sara grinned. “Jonah Hex.”

“You know this guy?” Zari asked.

The cowboy swung an arm around Sara’s shoulders. “Me and these ruffians go way back.”

“You could say that. Wally, Zari, Lena, this is Jonah Hex.” It was then that she saw the badge pinned to his chest. “Who died and made you sheriff?”

“That’d be the old sheriff. Now, it’s my time to keep the peace around here. So, you can’t be causing any trouble.”

Lena did her best to keep a casual face even though she was geeking out on the inside. She and Lex had watched a lot of Westerns when they were younger and, when he was in a good mood, Lex would allow Lena to be the Sheriff when they played.

She cleared her throat. “We are not here to cause trouble. We are here to avoid it.”

His face turned to her, curious with the new comer, but was distracted by gunshots coming from outside. His hand subconsciously went to the pistols that were on his hips.

“This the trouble you were aiming to avoid?”

They looked outside to see three people on horses.

“Not exactly.”

Sara and company went outside to see what was going on. Lena figured they were time travelers as well since one was dressed in Roman armor, the other in a pirate outfit, and the third in Viking attire.

“Looks like Mallus brought back some of our old buddies,” Mick sneered.

“I thought Mallus wasn’t supposed to find us here?” Lena questioned. She didn’t have her suit underneath her clothes but she could use her natural webs if it came down to it.

“Fools. Mallus sees all, knows all.” the Roman soldier spoke.

“Then, why did he bring back you jerks to do his business?” Mick sounded like he had a personal hate for one of them. Maybe the pirate?

“Because he’s probably still recovering from that beat-down Rip gave him,” Sara baited.

“Oh, now, do not confuse Mallus’ clemency with weakness, me hearties,” the pirate crowed.

“Mallus will spare your lives if you surrender the six totems,” the Roman promised.

“Yeah, sorry, we only brought two, and mine’s kind of a family heirloom, so…” Zari sassed.

The Viking woman looked indifferent the whole conversation. “Then, we have no choice but to march our army on your town. And kill every fool who has given you shelter.”

Jonah Hex stepped forward with his hands still on his guns as he warned, “You leave my town out of this or things will get real ugly.”

The pirate shrugged. “You have been warned. We’ll be back to collect the totems. Shall we say high noon tomorrow? Tootles.”

As the three horses trotted away, Sara pressed her finger to her ear. “Guys, if you can hear me, I need you to put the Waverider on lockdown. Caesar, Blackbeard, and Freydis are here. We’ll be there soon.”

“Wait, wait. You’re saying that was _ the _ Caesar of Rome? And Blackbeard the notorious pirate? And Freydis the legendary, sword-wielding Norse Viking?”

“Yup. And they’ve all tried to kill us at some point.” Sara was trying not to laugh at Lena’s gobsmacked expression.

“That is so amazing. No offence, of course. Oh, how I wish they weren’t working with an evil time demon who wants to ruin the world. I have so many questions! Especially for Freydis. I don’t think Caesar would talk to me because I’m a woman, but I’m willing to bet Blackbeard has some amazing stories!”

“Caesar is a bastard,” Mick spat.

“And Blackbeard is actually a coward who runs away from danger but will take all the fame,” Zari added.

“And Freydis hates our guts because we stole what she believed was a god. It was actually a Beebo doll that ended up in her camp.” Sara fondly shook her head at the memory.

“A Beebo doll-?”

“Look, this sounds like a nice chat and all, but what’s going on? What is it they want and why are they attacking my town?” Jonah interrupted.

Sara took a deep breath before jumping into the story. “We kind of let this time demon out of its cage and it’s coming after us. We have the only thing that can kill it - six magical stones that we don’t know how to use yet. They want them, we won’t hand them over, so they’re going to attack us.” She paused as her eyes raked over the town. “You better tell your people to board up because we’re going to be in for a heck of a battle later.”

The Sheriff took off his hat. “Well, I’ll be. It’s always something big with you lot. I’ll do what I can here, you get back with your crew and figure out what to do to not destroy this place and the world.”

“That’s the plan.”

As they headed back to the Waverider, Lena’s head was still spinning with the fact that she had just met iconic people from history. Caesar was shorter than she thought and she imagined Freydis would have been bigger and buffer.

Would it be weird if she stole a lock of their hair? During battle, it wouldn’t be weird if she cut some off, right? It’s not like she could ask them for an autograph or a picture. But she could ask Hope to record the fight! She knew Jess and Maggie were going to be jealous once they saw the footage.

“You alright there, Spider?” Zari teased.

“These are such amazing people. Well, maybe not amazing, but well-known. I suppose you get used to it after a while of time-traveling, huh?”

“Yeah. Some people aren’t who you think they are once you meet them. That, or they try to kill us.”

Lena understood the feeling. “Has there been anyone that you’ve met that made a lasting impression?”

“Helen of Troy,” Zari answered right away. “Did you know that I hacked history to get her away from the war after she was displaced in time?”

“Y-You hacked history?” Lena was sure her brain short-circuited. Cisco and Felicity were amazing, but hacking  _ history _ ? “I would like to hear that story if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Finally, a fellow genius who can appreciate my expertise!”

Sara faintly smiled. She was glad Zari was finally starting to warm up to them. With Lena’s help, she was sure the hacker would become more open by the time the crisis was over.

The group entered the Waverider, Lena’s mind still mostly blown, and surrounded the console where the others were waiting. Nate seemed out of it while Amaya had a grim expression.

“Nathaniel and I shared a cup of Lyoga root tea to access the memories of the original totem bearers,” she explained.

“Oh, you’re still high.” Zari laughed at Nate’s stoned expression.

Amaya ignored them. “Now, the reason the totems haven’t been working for us is not that we’re unworthy. It’s because we’ve been using them wrong.”

“The totems were not designed to be used Indivisually. Indi-vidu-aly. Indivis? Individually!” Nate cheered when he got it.

“Their elemental powers combine to create a perfect being of light to fight Mallus with,” Amaya went on to explain.

Nate snapped his fingers in realization. “Like Voltron!”

“Like Voltron?” Zari echoed.

“What’s Voltron?” Lena had never heard of such a thing.

“Defender of the Universe,” he supplied.

Sara tried to get the conversation back on track. “Right, well, weren’t all of the original totem bearers actually from Zambesi?”

“But you all wield them now. I mean, do you think that was an accident?” Amaya was desperately trying to get her crewmates to see that this was destiny. They were all meant to make their stand here with the totems. They may not have been born for the role, but it was chosen for them.

“Uh, I do.” The captain raised her hand.

Amaya was not going to let that deter her. She just had to make them see what she was trying to get at.

“Mick. The chances of you running into your father in Vietnam are next to zero and yet you did, and you came out a better man for it. Zari, do you remember the way your totem called to mine the moment you put it on? It wanted you to stay with us. Lena, what are the chances of you getting spider powers and finding a way onto the Waverider? Sara, you’ve literally cheated death and made it here.” Amaya made sure to make eye contact with everyone. “Please, we have to try.”

“Fine,” Sara conceded.

“Thank you. We should go outside to practice working together with the totems.”

“Wait. Where’s Ray?” Lena realized the scientist wasn’t with them. The others seemed to just notice his absence as well.

“Oh, he ran away with Darhk after punching me in the face,” Nate said casually.

Sara’s head whipped over to him. “I’m sorry, what?”

Amaya bit her lip. “Ray rerouted the time drive to the jump ship then left with Darhk. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

“Oh my God.”Sara rubbed her temples. “Whatever he’s doing I trust him. A heads up would’ve been nice.” She sighed. “Okay, so who gets the Water Totem?”

“I think Lena should.” Amaya pulled the necklace out of her pocket and handed it to the Spider.

Lena hesitantly took it. This was a powerful weapon that they needed to destroy a demon and the leader of the totem team wanted her to use it? Her?

“Why me? I don’t have any connection to water. Well, unless you want to count my mom drowning but…”

Zari laughed out loud. “Oh, yeah, you’re totally getting the Water Totem. Now, come on.” Not waiting for a response, Zari put the necklace over Lena’s head and smiled.

The Legends, plus Lena, left the Waverider and ventured to the outskirts of the town. Lena had bundled up since it was surprisingly cold out now that the sun had gone down.

With her built-in vision, Lena was able to guide them to a makeshift table outside. They then looked to Amaya expectedly.

“Alright, Amaya. It’s your show. How do we create this magical light being?” Lena could tell Sara was still skeptical by the tone of voice.

“Make a circle around the table. Mick, your fire is going to provide our champion with the spark. Zari, use your air to give it breath. Lena, use your water to flow life’s blood through its veins. Nate-”

“I will use the Earth Totem to give Voltron flesh,” Nate giggled. Lena wondered if she could try whatever he had once the demon was defeated since the effects were strong.

Sara groaned. “You have got to stop calling it that.”

“I will never stop calling it that.”

Lena still didn’t understand what a Voltron was.

Amaya tried to get the conversation back on track. “I’m going to use my spirit to provide it with a soul. But without the final totem, our champion will be incomplete.”

“No, it’s not happening.” Sara crossed her arms.

“Without the Death Totem, the other five totems can only imprison Mallus. We need Death to kill him once and for all.”

Was the reason Sara didn’t believe the totems would work because she was afraid of the Death Totem? What it could do to her?

“Don’t worry. If you turn into a witch bitch, I’ll kill you.” Mick reassured her.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Sara smiled at Mick. “All right. Let’s do it.” She took off her cowboy hat and slipped the Death Totem on over her head.

“Okay, hold hands. Clear your minds and focus on your breath. Imagine a perfect warrior of justice, mercy, and light,” Amaya guided them.

Lena held Zari’s and Nate’s hand as she closed her eyes. She focused on the blood pumping through her body, listened to her heartbeat, to help imagine the water as blood. Her totem lit up, as did the others, one by one.

“Why does Pretty have such girly hands?”

Why did it feel like Lena heard Mick say that in her head instead of out loud?

“Damn, this Lyoga root is strong! Concentrate, Nate. Think about “Voltron, Defender of the Universe”.”

That was definitely Nate in her head.

“Am I crazy, or is Jonah Hex hot?” Zari thought.

“Eh, you could do worse than Hex.”

“Wait, you can hear me?” Zari opened her eyes to look at everyone’s expressions. “We can all hear each other.”

Mick frowned. “Even what I said about Pretty’s girly hands?”

“Yes,” everyone choursed out loud.

“Okay, please, we need to clear our minds,” Amaya pleaded.

Lena focused on her totem as she focused on her team’s thoughts. She figured the purpose of being able to hear each other was to help with the process of forming the hero. The totems shot out a beam of light, all rays meeting in the middle.

“It’s working!” Nate cheered.

“Are we making a baby?” Mick asked. Thinking about it, they kind of  _ were _ making a baby.

“Guys, we have to focus,” Lena tried. She was resolute in getting Sara to see that they could do this.

“You telling us to focus is making it hard to focus!” Mick shot.

“This is why we’re not worthy of the totems,” Sara exasperated.

“Everyone just shut up!”

The ball of light that had been made from their beams exploded, revealing a creature on the surface of the wood. It had a deformed face, a leg sticking out of its back, a foot as an arm, and it looked like a sack of meat. Mick pulled out his gun and set it on fire.

“Mick!” Amaya cried.

“What? I’m just putting this slop out of its misery.” He put his gun away while staring at the ashes with a distrustful look.

“Aw, Voltron.” Nate sniffled as if he were truly holding back tears. Lena patted his shoulder to comfort him, she knew how emotional one can get while intoxicated. It wouldn’t do anyone good if he cried over that monstrosity they made.

“Right, we need to try again. It wasn’t likely that we were going to be able to do it on our first try.”

“No, what we need is to find some people that are worthy of using these totems,” Sara refuted as she walked away.

Lena’s hair on the back of her neck prickled. There was a whooshing sound followed by a portal opening near them. Ava walked out with three people behind her.

“If that’s not an entrance line, then I don’t know what is.” Ava gave a soft smile to Sara. “I got your message. We all did.”

Jax stepped out from behind the director. “You guys just can’t seem to keep yourselves out of trouble, can you?”

“Oh, well, you know us.” Sara walked over to him and engulfed him in a hug.

“That I most certainly do.” Jax looked at the Legends. “Hey, everyone. Yo, Lena?” He looked back to Sara. “I guess you really did need help. Ava hasn’t really told us what’s happening.”

“Let’s go to the Waverider, we can talk about everything there.”

As they walked back to the time ship, Zari informed Lena that the blonde woman was Helen of Troy and the other woman was Kuasa, Amaya’s granddaughter.

“I think I would probably trade working at L-Corp for time traveling with the Legends. It’s never a dull day, is it?”

“Nope.” They walked in silence for some time. “Would you really leave Earth-38 and travel with us if you could?”

Lena didn’t need to think too hard about her answer.

“No. Kara and I are together now, if you didn’t know, and I couldn’t possibly leave her behind. Nor my friends, they would rip the multiverse apart to get me back.” Lena chuckled at the idea of Maggie and Harley going from Earth to Earth in search of her. “I’m committed to my Earth and helping it out as both Lena Luthor and Spider-Woman. If I truly had nothing to lose, then perhaps I would.”

Zari hummed in response. “Your Earth is lucky to have you. Let’s just hope we survive this so you can get back home and kick ass there.”

-

Helen was shooting glass bottles in the bar. Lena hadn’t had a chance to speak with the woman - if she were honest, she was a bit too awestruck - so watching her from afar would have to do.

Jonah Hex whistled in awe when Helen destroyed all the bottles without wasting a bullet. “Damn, where’d you learn to shoot like that?”

“I learned to fight on Themyscira where-”

“Themyscira?” Lena interjected. “Like, the all-girls island of Amazons? Where Wonder Woman was raised?”

“Who’s Wonder Woman? How do you know of the island?”

The Spider turned to Sara. “Do you know who Wonder Woman is?” When everyone shook their heads, the eyes to her suit widened in surprise. “She’s a demigod hero on my Earth with powers similar to Supergirl’s. Well, sort of. She can fly, is pretty fast, oh, she has this lasso called the Lasso of Truth and if it touches you, you are forced to speak the truth no matter what. I’ve never met her, but she’s amazing from what I’ve been told.”

Helen and Jonah had confused, but intrigued, expressions. “On your Earth?”

“Hey, focus. We need to be teaching you how to use the totems, and I’m pretty sure you didn’t learn that on Themyscira,” Sara said.

“That’s not why we’re here, Sara. We’re here to help you, not replace you,” Ava gently reminded her.

“Look, we’ve already tried twice, and we failed miserably.” Sara downed another shot and stared hopelessly out of the window.

“The reason we’re failing is because you’re not believing in us - in yourself.” Lena walked over to Sara. “You were brought back from the  _ dead _ , Sara. Do you really think it’s a coincidence you’ve made it this far? You are Captain of the Waverider, which was no mistake, and you choose to save people’s lives, you choose to fix the timeline and do things your way. Look at Helen! She is so much happier thanks to you guys. I don’t go here, but I don’t doubt there are countless other people you’ve saved. So believe in yourself, Sara. Believe that you can wear the Death Totem and defeat the demon. I trust that we’re the ones meant to defeat Mallus, and I’m a woman of science. So come on, Captain Lance, show your team that we can do this and win.”

The assassin was slightly taken aback. “Good speech.”

Lena smirked in her mask. “Thank you.” Her ears picked up two people coming to the saloon, though she wasn’t sure if they were friend or foe. Before she could make out who it was, the bar doors were thrown open.

“Howdy partners! What did I miss?” Ray called out as he stepped into the saloon.

Nate turned to look at him. “Where’s Darhk?”

“Um..”

A woman stepped in next to him.

“Woah, woah, woah. Wrong Darhk!” Nate shouted.

Everyone pulled out their weapons and pointed it at her. Lena guessed she was Damien Darhk’s daughter. Wasn’t she the one possessed by Mallus?

“No, no, no, look, look, look, she’s -she’s been de-Mallused. She’s no longer a demon.” Ray stood protectively in front of her.

Zari raised her hand. “So, we don’t have to fight Mallus anymore?”

“Uh, not exactly.”

Lena had an inkling of what happened. To confirm, she asked, “Where’s Damien Darhk?”

Ray nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, long story short, um, he sacrificed himself for Nora and now he’s Mallus’ vessel. So, what’s new in the Old West?”

No one was overtly surprised by that.

Lena was filling Ray in about Blackbeard, Caesar, and Freydis, but was interrupted by the sound of the armies’ footsteps closing in.

The captain of the Waverider walked in front of the bar and got everyone’s attention. “All right. We’re facing an army of Romans, Vikings, and pirates. But you know what today is? Today, is the day that we prove that Rip did not sacrifice his life in vain. And today is the day we prove that we are not losers. And today is the day we earn the name Legends.” Everyone raised their shot glasses to that. “Now, how do we sneak out the back?”

The totem wielders gave the totems to Sara as they went out to their positions. Lena was partnered with Helen. Since they would be up against pirates, Romans, and Vikings, Lena activated the Iron Spider over her suit.

“Your powers intrigue me. You’re similar to an arachnid, correct?”

“Yes.” Spider-Woman adjusted the web-shooters and jumped around some to get used to the new weight on her body. “You intrigue me, as well. Your beauty is beyond what I expected, although I have to admit I am more excited to be fighting by your side than admiring you.”

Helen beamed. “Do you know how to sword fight, Spider? I think we’d make an excellent pair”

“I am well versed in the basic movements of it,” what with having been fencing champion for almost all of boarding school, “but I have never been in a proper duel with real swords before.”

“I suppose we’ll have to see. They’re coming.”

The Iron Spider confused the Romans. They stared at Spider-Woman, unsure if they were facing Arachne herself, and started to fall as Helen slashed at them. The Wall-Crawler webbed some soldiers to the ground, others to the wall. Once the amount of Romans dwindled down to a handful, Lena picked up a sword. It was heavier than she thought and quite unbalanced, but she was able to swing the sword around no problem.

Lena thrusted her sword forward - much as she would in fencing - but was blocked easily by her opponent. She dodged his parry and went in for another hit. Sparks flew as their blades met in the middle. Pulling inspiration from Percy Jackson, Lena followed some of the sword tricks that were mentioned in the book (some of which she practiced at home with a broom). When she disarmed the man by sliding her sword down the length of his and turning at the hilt, Helen clapped proudly.

“I could see the inner warrior in you, Spider. You handled yourself well.”

“Thank you.” Lena twirled the sword in her hand. “It’s much more difficult than I thought.”

The Legends and crew ran towards them just as an explosion went off. Lena was about to ask what happened when the dead bodies started to rise. Even the people who were stuck in webs started to tear through it with their swords.

“I take this as a sign Mallus is here?” Lena dropped her sword to grab the Water Totem that was handed to her.

Helen slashed a nearby soldier down. “Go. Make good on your preparations. The rest of us shall buy you time.”

“Come on, to the saloon,” Sara commanded.

The Legends followed her as Lena did her best to keep them out of the enemies way. Hope used the extra arms to keep them away from her as she used impact webs to web them to nearby walls. Once they made it inside of the building, Lena set one trip mine down by the entrance just in case.

Amaya finished handing out the totems. “We have to believe in the totems, that they chose each of us.”

Sara, ever the pessimistic, said, “Well, if this really is the end of the world, then I choose to surround myself with you guys.”

“If this fails, I’ll be happy to invite you all to my Earth,” Lena joked. Ray laughed as Sara snickered, although Zari looked unamused.

Everyone held hands in a circle. Zari was on Lena’s left, Amaya on her right. As everyone closed their eyes and concentrated, their minds were connected once again. Each person was concentrating on their job and Lena felt a weird feeling in her gut. She knew it was going to work this time.

"It's working,” Sara muttered in awe.

"All right, now, imagine a powerful light of pure goodness,” Amaya reminded the group.

Each totem created a beam that shot into the middle. Lena once again listened to her heart and thought about the blood flowing in her to help her focus on giving the hero blood.

"Something’s forming."

"Can I peak? I'm gonna peak," Zari notified. She gasped at the sight. "Oh, God."

Lena didn’t dare to look.

"Oh, God? What "Oh God"?" Mick gruffed.

"Everyone focus!" Sara shouted.

"Wait. Is somebody thinking of-"

"I'm sorry, you said to think of something pure, and I thought-" Nate cut Amaya off.

"No, you didn't,” Sara groaned.

"Again, I said I'm sorry!”

"Yeah, I can't stop thinking about him, either,” Lena admitted.

Since everyone’s minds were connected, the moment Nate and Zari thought about it, Lena did too. Nate was the one who was in charge of building the flesh so when everyone thought about it, it made sense as to why their bright, powerful, warrior of the light, hero was Beebo.

Lena wasn’t entirely sure how the fight went. She and the other totem wielders controlled Beebo as they were inside of it, but it was almost as if they were in a dream-like trance. They knew they were fighting against Mallus - Lena and Sara being in charge of the movements - but it was as if she were playing a video game, controlling the giant stuffed animal that way. Having their minds connected made it easy for Sara and Lena to doge hits as well as land some of their own. Once they thought Mallus was worn down, Beebo jumped in the sky with the demon and body slammed it to the ground, Sara channeling the Death Totem to kill Mallus once and for all.

They woke up in a crater surrounded by fur and stuffing. Lena coughed up a hairball.

Ava, Ray, Nora, Helen, and Jonah stood at the edge of the crater and looked down at them.

“We did it!” Nate cheered enthusiastically.

“Our totems united to create a single furry love child,” Zari deadpanned.

“Worst orgy ever.” Mick roughly swatting stuffing off from his shoulder.

“I don’t know, I’ve had worse.” Lena looked at the stuffing that continued to fall from the sky. She wondered if Hope was able to record anything from that fight.

“So wait. That’s it? You destroyed the demon?” Ava questioned.

“Looks like.” Lena kicked at the blue fur.

“I’m just glad the ancestors aren’t here to see this.” Amaya smiled guilitly at the mess.

“Yeah, but, Rip would be proud.” Sara grinned at their handiwork. “Come on, group hug!”

After the group hug, Lena helped everyone out of the crater. Ava said they had to round up all the Romans, Vikings, and pirates so the Time Bureau could wipe their memories and send them back to their designated time periods.

It was easy work, if not tedious, but they got it done. Sara, Lena, Zari, and Amaya stood off to the side watching as the Time Bureau took care of the remaining stragglers.

“Aren’t you glad I picked you up from Zambesi six months ago?” Sara asked Amaya.

Amaya scoffed. “I think the words you used were, “just one more mission”.”

“It’s better than the line they used on me. “Come with us if you want to live”. I almost die every week on that ship!”

The four of them laughed. It was good to know that the Legends were as dramatic as she thought. If Lena were being serious, the Legends were like a group of theater kids. No, she wasn’t going to explain.

“But you found a home.” Amaya looked to Zari with fond eyes.

“I did.” Zari shrugged to play off the sentiment.

“As much fun as this has been, it’s time for me to go home.” That’s right, Amaya was from a different time period. Lena wondered how she got involved with the Legends in the first place.

“Come on, you can’t leave me and Zari...” Sara weakly tried.

“You guys are my family. Always will be. But I have another family waiting for me in the years to come. And they need me more.”

The captain nodded in understanding. “Well, you’ll always have a home on the Waverider.”

“I’m going to miss you guys.” Amaya hugged Zari and Sara before looking at Lena. “Oh, you too, Spider. Come here.”

Lena smiled as she pulled away from the group hug. “Um, is that Jonah Hex’s hat?”

“Isn’t that an Ancient Roman sword?” Zari shot back.

Lena moved the sword behind her back. “Touche.”

“Let’s get back to the Waverider before Ava sees you two stealing from history,” Sara teased.

“Hey! This was a gift. Lena is the one stealing.”

“I won it in battle, so I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m stealing it.”

Zari and Lena playfully bickered the whole way to the Waverider.

It was a tearful send off for Amaya. Lena didn’t know the woman that well, but even she got misty eyed saying goodbye. Once Nate returned from dropping her off, everyone gathered in the captain’s quarters.

“I say we’re in need for vacation. Any ideas?” Sara poured herself a glass of whiskey.

“Aruba,” Mick stated.

“The Bahamas?” Nate added.

“Anywhere but China. I’ve spent the last couple of months there and I need a change of scenery before I go back,” Wally said.

“Oh, yeah, you’ve been on sabbatical, right? How’s it been?” Sara asked. He simply shrugged in response. “Alright well, let’s all get some rest. Zari, can you rewire the time core again when you can? We’ll figure out what to do then.”

“No problem.” Zari nudged Lena with her foot. “Want me to show you the ins and out of the Waverider?”

“Definitely.”

The two technology geeks worked together to get the Waverider flying again. It would’ve taken Zari less time if she did it by herself, but she was teaching Lena everything. She knew there was no point since Lena would probably never have to know about it, but it was fun having someone she could talk technology to, even if there was a difference of knowledge because of her being from the future and Lena being from the past.

-

“Good call, Mick,” Zari complimented as she laid out on her beach chair.

“When I said Aruba, I meant me, not all of you,” Mick retorted.

“Still. Nothing helps a broken heart like a good tan.” Nate turned his head to look at Sara. “You should have invited Ava.”

“Oh, we’ve got plans.” The assassin smirked. “And until then, she’s busy fixing all those pesky anachronisms we left behind.”

“Well, that’s the thing about defeating an ancient time demon - everything else seems boring,” Ray happily chirped.

Lena felt as if he had just jinxed them. While doing paperwork and spending time in the lab may not be as exciting as becoming a stuffed animal to fight a demon, Lena knew better than to think of something as boring. There was hardly ever a boring day in National City and she didn’t want to jinx it.

A man walked towards them, their shadow covering the sun from Mick.

“Hey, idiot, get out of here,” the thief hissed.

“Fancy seeing you lot here,” the man spoke in a fake british accent.

“Constantine?” Ray put his glasses down to get a better look.

“Did you really think I was him? It’s me.” Nate gave him an unimpressed look. “The blonde wig is too much, right?”

“No, it's very presidential.” Zari giggled softly to herself.

The man frowned and took off the wig with a look of disgust.

“Gary, what do you want?” Sara sighed.

“He’s been with me, love,” A new voice said. “Oh, I need a word with you sorry lot.” Everyone looked at him. “Now... whose brilliant idea was it to let an ancient demon out of its bloody cage?”

The man, Constantine if the first man was Gary, dropped an object on the ground and pulled off the tarp revealing a massive dragon head.

“Sara’s,” Nate blamed right away.

Sara slid her glasses on her face then leaned back into her chair in shame.

“Well, you opened a door, love. And Mallus wasn’t the only thing that got out.”

It looked like Lena was in for a bit of a working vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Long time no see. Sorry for not updating - I was at protests, my dad got covid, i had a covid scare, finals and papers for university took a lot out of me, I sort of burned out, I had an attempt or two, my friends are not okay, and just so much stuff was going on! There won't be another update this month, frankly, i don't think I have the energy to do so, but don't worry, this story still has so much to explore! My beta reader and I have it all planned out.
> 
> How have you guys been? Did you miss the story? Did you catch my references?
> 
> I also really hope you guys have seen how much my writing has improved. I read chapter 1 the other week and i was like yiiikes. but i am so much better now and i'm only improving so thank you for staying and watching me grow as a writer :)
> 
> To my new readers, hi! Nice to meet you! I see you commenting and liking, I appreciate you!
> 
> Anyway. Thanks a ton to [my beta reader](https://confusinggemini612.tumblr.com/) for helping me get this chapter done and out. Go ahead and check out the playlists if you haven't so far. My favorite is [Harley Quinn’s playlist!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3iVF2PKMncPxvvhFtmWAbu?si=4j9KUYpDSDudC8Jnr1kd4Q). Feel free to follow me on [tumblr](https://timelords-angel-is-sherlocked.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/dr_halfblood) for story updates. I love you all, happy holidays, I'll see you next year xxx


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